The Blueprints for Falling for a Straight Dude
by Zeraphie
Summary: You see, it was girls like Thalia Grace and Piper McLean that let Leo know he was out of their league. But it was a guy like Jason Grace that let him know he didn't stand a chance. Slash; Jason x Leo/JxL/Jeo semi-AU.
1. What Leo Does in His Dorm Room

**Summary: **"You see, it was girls like Thalia Grace and Piper McLean that let Leo know he was out of their league. But it was a guy like Jason Grace that let him know he didn't stand a chance."

_Disclaimer: I do not own Heroes of Olympus, nor Percy Jackson and the Olympians. _

**Chapter I: **What Leo Does in His Dorm Room

**LPOV**

"Oh, uh. My bad."

"Nah, dude. You're fine." Yeah. He's totally fine, and I'm the one choking on the scent of ambrosia, charred eyebrows and...maybe a subtle zap of electricity. I try not to stare – staring is for losers who don't know how to play the game, and _Leo Valdez_ is so not a loser. My body heats up, and I've got to tell it twenty times not to explode because, really? I'm the only known Hephaestus kid who can summon fire. As a Hephaestus kid and a guy who likes to tinker, let's get one thing straight:

Explosions are cool. So long as that's the purpose, and it's not mine.

Well, if it's something of Jason's that explodes, then that wouldn't be cool, either. Since he can do that whole electricity-Child-of-Zeus thing, I can sense a little _zap-zip_ here and there.

You know what, scratch that. If I were to explode, maybe that'd be cool. It'd be a cool way to go – and I'm Leo Valdez. I'd go out like a firecracker.

Only maybe I'd be like that robotic dog, Goddard, and regenerate – _hmmm_ –

"Uh, dude?" Oh, yeah. Jason's still behind me. I'm lost in my thoughts, debating on regenerating explosions, and forget that he's apologizing for tripping over heaps of my stuff, only to save himself by – "You can take your hand out of my tool pocket now."

Jason Grace isn't a cocky bastard. He ain't the smartest guy around (ooh, guess. It's me!), but he isn't stupid. As a child of Zeus, you expect him to be just a smidge arrogant, or at least just a wee bit power hungry. But he isn't. He looks like a player, yet he isn't one of those, either.

I know this because as soon as I mention the fact his hand is still in my super awesome tool belt – mind you, accidentally groping my ass – Jason recoils. His sparkling blue eyes widen twice their size, eyebrows hiding under his hairline, and his naturally rosy cheeks burn twice their heat. "Sorry, Leo."

"Oh, no problem. You're not interrupting me – just the biggest project of my damn life while we're attending the University of Olympus that Annabeth will kill me for if I don't – "

"Alright, _alright_." Jason raises an eyebrow. "I just wanted to see if you wanted to come by Vesta's with Piper, Percy, and me."

"_Ay dios mio." _Big project should have spoken for itself. Vesta's was a little Roman cafe on the south side of campus. Weekly we rotate from going to Hestia's to Vesta's, and I'm guessing it was Vesta's this week. Ever since meeting Percy Jackson (supposed head of Greek OU), Jason and he have been trying to get the campus to get along.

"Okay," he says again. His laugh fills my ears, and my fingers flutter from the sweet sound. Jason puts a hand on my shoulder and I resist all urge to shiver. "Maybe later?"

"Iris message me. And I'll see what I can do." From the other side of my safety goggles, it looks like they block my peripheral. They don't.

Jason smiles again; his shy smile that makes his skin look like the sun's hitting him just right, and his cropped blond hair makes you think he just got laid – only he looks like that _all the time_ – and his electric blue eyes that glow in the dark. He's gorgeous, humbly domineering, and –

There's a knock on our door and Jason quickly stands to is feet. He nearly lunges forth, half-blood instincts hilariously taking over, and in comes Piper McClean, one of the prettiest girls at OU. She has to be – she's an Aphrodite kid.

Piper smiles lightly, eyes landing on me before she laughs. "Your boxers are dirty."

"Well, they're not burnt like last time." I crack a grin.

"Doesn't it bother you when they get that dirty?"

"Jason doesn't mind."

"Really, Jason?" Pipes looks to her boyfriend, lips twisting in a grin as she squeezes his bicep. I'm not looking at them – you can sense what they do from a mile away. Instead, the steam fogs my goggles, and I pretend I'm absorbed in my work.

Jason shrugs. "As long as he doesn't make my pillow spontaneously combust like last time."

"I dunno. I kinda like it when he drives you crazy. It...drives you to me." Blush, blush.

"Oh, uh, really?" _Blush_ing virgin.

"It's not like you need an excuse to see me, Jase. Come by anytime...alright?" Blush, blush. "After Vesta's, maybe a walk in the park...come by my dorm, watch a movie...?"

"Do I have to kick you two lovebirds out?" I yell at the top of my lungs, and automatically the demi-god next door bangs on our wall telling us to shut up. A curse escapes my lips and I pick up the screwdriver that was unintentionally thrown to the ground.

"You don't have to be so rude." If it came from any other girl I would have slapped them. But Piper has been my best friend for years, and I was the one who introduced them.

I turn around, lips contorting into a nonchalant smirk, and shrug. "I'll meet up with you guys later, alright?"

"Don't overwork yourself," Jason says, and he wraps an arm around Piper's waist like they're highschoolers again. He flashes that look, and The Smile appears. "Your goggles are all fogged up."

I refuse to look at him and almost block out his voice. Instead I feign irritation. My two best friends in the entire world laugh at my misery before slipping out of the room and off to Vesta's.

Being mad at Jason is a lot like if you got a crappy taco. Sometimes they come out too spicy, but they mean well – and you can bet they still taste good.

Jason is my taco. He never gets me angry – can't even if he tries – and that's how our relationship works. He knows every little one of my tendencies – _like hell I knew I yank one of my curls when I get nervous –_ and I give him advice on Pipes. Not that he needs it.

Once I'm finally sure they're gone from the building, I relax. Does he know his laugh is intoxicating? That when he stares at you, you wanna fall to the ground and kiss his feet? Can he tell every time he's hovering over me, I debate – _Is that a screwdriver in between my legs, or does he seriously get me that hot? _

Of course that idiot doesn't notice.

Crawling out from under the desk, I throw myself onto the bed and bury my face into an ash-covered pillow.

Jason Grace and I met when we were fifteen. At the new summer camp Mom made me go to one summer, I stole some screws from Ms. Lupa and he covered for me. Mister Jason Grace – the Harry Potter of OU. For four years, we've been best friends, and no one can tear us apart. Piper was my best friend since diapers, and once we got to college, I introduced them.

That was a year ago. As I shut my eyes, the surface of his blue orbs electrify my entire body. Gorgeous, alluring blue eyes that makes my heart soar, and a smile that tingles my chest. His voice hums in my ears, and I wonder how in our four years I never noticed how much of a _God_ he is. His beautiful laugh, his dorky way of blushing if you get into his personal space. I didn't notice at first.

When Piper starts noticing how cute his eyes are, I notice how cute his everything is.

Ladies and Germs: one year ago, I introduced those lovebirds. One year ago, I realized I'd fallen for that gorgeous, humbly domineering guy – who's taken.

One year ago, I realized that I could chase girls like Piper and Jason's hot sister, Thalia, all I wanted, but it only distracts me from the fact that I can't catch my totally hot, totally badass best friend, Jason Grace.

**Author's Note: **

Merry Christmas! :D


	2. When Jason Likes a Girl

**Chapter II: **When Jason Likes a Girl

**JPOV**

"Where's Leo?"

I look to Percy, and the college senior is distraught. A shrug falls on my shoulders, and I remember Piper's and my hands are still tangled. A smile plays across my lips, eyes narrowing to the most beautiful girl at Olympus U. Percy would disagree, but I love her.

I love Piper's beautifully tan skin, I love her uneven dark hair, and I love that she's charming because she's being herself.

"Dude?" Conner grins. "You're staring."

Piper looks up with her kaleidoscope eyes, lips twisting into an amused grin. She blushes lightly, and I blush too.

"Leo's working on some big project with Annabeth for Vulcan Physics and Engineering." The look on his face is absolutely pitiful. Percy's been pacing back and forth ever since we arrived at Vesta's. The lights were dimmed, specifically in colors red and pink, and some Helios and Apollo kids are singing romantic songs. It's almost to the point that Vesta's is decked out as a Venus love joint, and you can see them gathered in bunches.

"She's still working?" Funny, because just a minute ago Percy was freaking out about my best friend. "You don't think she would miss it, do you? Gods, I searched high and low for this ring, and –"

"_Chill_," Conner snickers."You're such a pansy, Percy." Despite his harsh attitude, Conner stands up and pats the Son of Neptune on his back. Piper and I both roll our eyes because we can see him try to steal the small box in Percy's coat pocket.

"Perseus _Logan_ Jackson – " It doesn't take long, and Piper gives me this funny grin. Annabeth storms into Vesta's, face red with fury, hair smudged with oil, and the tail of her t-shirt ripped into tattered pieces.

What's funny is my sister Thalia and Percy act so much alike. Strong, driven, and a spoonful-and-a-half of sarcasm dripping in their half-mortal, half-God blood. They get along in the sense that they don't get along. _At all._ While Thalia may be one of Percy's best friends, but I think we've always shared the same taste in girls.

"Will you marry me?" The words leave Percy's lips before he has the chance to comprehend what he's just said. He gets down on both knees before remembering he should be down on one, and in his eyes you can see he's debating which one to kneel on.

Suddenly, Annabeth stops her rampage. She isn't angry anymore, and without the scowl on her face, you can see she's very pretty. Piper squeezes my hand and suppresses a giggle. I know what she's laughing over now.

Piper denies herself the forced beauty and makeup the rest of her siblings get. Being in tune with love and beauty comes easily to her because she never has to try, but she doesn't like it. However, I have no doubt in my mind that she must have a sixth sense when it comes to Percy and Annabeth.

Percy suddenly gets up from the ground, red scattering his cheeks. They've known each other for more than ten years, and still he has trouble speaking to girls. "I mean – _damn_, I forgot to buy the coffee – and your favorite cookies – and – Conner, where's my ring?"

Annabeth is lost. I didn't blame her. "Percy, if you're just joking around, I have an important project to – "

"No!" And he hurriedly scrambles to Conner, grabs the ring out of his hand, and stands parallel to his girlfriend. "I had this rehearsed in my head – I swear I did."

He gathers his thoughts, and his girlfriend waits. The look on her face shows she's still confused, even if Percy's mentioned it two or three times now.

"You...and I have known each other for more years than we have been apart." I blinked, trying to make sense of his words. Percy continued, slowly crawling into his own voice. "My father and your mother don't get along – they may _never_ get along. But they can get over it. I know you've never been one to break rules, but – Annie, will you marry me?"

The cafe falls silent. The leader of Greek OU was proposing to his girlfriend of six years – it was _life changing._ Minerva's children have always been smart. While Percy talks, it doesn't take Annabeth long to realize what he's doing.

It takes maybe three or four times longer for her to process what her silly boyfriend just asked her.

"Yeah," she whispers. Her arms fall to her sides, and now Percy's trying to register his girlfriend's answer. "Yeah, Percy, I'll marry you."

Annabeth doesn't get choked up. All my life I've never seen her cry, but through her gray eyes you see her heart skip a beat, and she tries not to tear up. Instead she playfully punches Percy in the arm like they're ten-year-old kids again, and kisses him chastely. Percy's overwhelmed with joy, and he kisses her until Annabeth's entire face is red.

I turn to the side when I hear sniffling. "Conner, are you _crying_?"

"I'm just – you know? A sucker for weddings...I hope they order chocolate cake."

Piper and I exchange looks, then crack up laughing. Typical Conner. Once the commotion is finally said and done (applause, confetti, wolf-whistles – I hope it isn't like this if Piper and I ever, erm, you know...), we congratulate the marrying couple. Percy is dazed, and his rational girlfriend punches him in the gut before returning to the girls' dorms. Whatever Leo and Annabeth were making, it was gonna be worth the time apart.

Percy wears a shit-eating grin all night. Conner is no different, and finally Travis manages to drop by. Reyna, Hazel, Dakota and Katie arrive. Everyone is here except for the pair working on some groundbreaking project.

And Piper is a little different.

I notice it at first, when her touches move from resting her hand on my shoulder to resting it on my chest. She moves wordlessly to my lap as we tell embarrassing stories about the Stoll Brothers, and her hand is on my thigh rather than my bicep.

She's never done that. As I walk her to the Aphrodite dorm later that night, I feel my heart rate accelerating. Piper doesn't notice; and if she does, she doesn't comment. My palms get sweaty and I think back to when Leo first introduced me to his best friend and practically sister over a year ago. Our nine-month anniversary was two weeks ago.

"I, uh," I say. We stop at her door, which is decked out in pretty flowers and a whiteboard that delicately says, _Katie & Piper!_ Where the I's are dotted with a heart.

"Katie and Travis are on a date," Piper reassures coyly. I want to smile through my nervousness as her arm lightly tightens around my waist. She doesn't peg herself as the damsel-in-distress and what other stereotype comes with being a Venus kid. Piper isn't one for breaking hearts and boys grovelling at her feet, and she's very proud of that. However, when she has a rare moment where she can tug on my heart strings, she takes full advantage without meaning to. "You can come in, watch a movie and stuff."

Then I remember that my heart's beating hard in my chest. I run a hand through my hair and nervously smile. "I promised Leo I would hold the flashlight for him."

I'm not ready for it. Piper cocks an eyebrow. "Leo's letting you touch one of his inventions?"

"Crazy, right?" The day Leo Valdez let me even fondle his screwdriver would be the day he decided to give up women. In an essence – _never._ "One time opportunity." As I gesture for the elevator, I try hard not to tug so it doesn't look like I'm running.

"I..." She wants to say something, and it breaks my heart a little. If I stay, I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself .

I peck her on the lips and turn toward the elevator.

**LPOV**

Piper's Iris Messaging me before I can drill in a loose bolt. I look up only to realize my goggles are blanketed in soot and soil, and take them off. She giggles on the other side, and I assume I'm sporting the whole tan-line-only-with-soot-and-oil line.

"What's up, Pipes?" The clock reads 11:35PM. Damn! I was supposed to join them four hours ago! "Gods, I'm sorry, I lost track of –"

"You're fine," she interrupts. "Is Jason okay?"

Is Jason okay? I blink. The last I remember, they walked out the dorm room with goofy smiles and holding hands. However, the look in Piper's face says otherwise. Knowing she wouldn't call me unless it was important – _along with the fact I hate being interrupted_ – I scratch my ear.

"What happened?" I dust off my boxers, knowing full well I won't be able to focus on the project otherwise.

"Well...after Percy proposed to Annabeth – "

"Wait, Annabeth left her room? She was getting on my case for not working on the – Percy proposed?" Twenty different thoughts run through my head. I put my hands on my hips, glaring at the bed across from mine. Annabeth gets proposed to, and Jason dismisses it as _hanging out at Vesta's_?

"Yeah." She gets this look where her cheeks glow and she pulls a choppy bang behind her ear. Piper does this whenever she's thinking about Jason. "But he walked me to my door, and we planned on going inside and watch some movies, but – "

"He make you angry by suggesting a movie of your dad's?"

"No," Piper says sternly. Usually her lips etch in a small smile if I ever make fun of her boy troubles. She isn't trying to hide a smile. "He's coming by to hold the flashlight for you – "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Hold a flashlight for me? I wanted to laugh. I would have laughed, but it looked like Pipes was seriously trying to believe that lie. I've known her most of my life and still won't let her within six feet of my inventions. However, a hurt Piper is certainly something I don't want to see, and as soon as I realize my words, I try not to falter. "He was supposed to be here an hour ago!"

Her eyes light up just slightly. "So it's true – ?"

"Leo, I need to talk to you about Pip – ...er." The door swings open, and a gust of wind knocks the dust and soot off my face just slightly. Jason barges in, and suddenly his eyes are wide as he sees Piper's image. She looks at him, distraught, but lemme tell you: I'm not too happy with him either. Great guy he is, Piper was practically my sister.

Brothers don't tolerate their sisters' sadness – unless, you know, they're the ones that cause it.

"I'll Iris you back, Beauty Queen." Once I wave the message off, I time it, so the last thing Piper hears is, "You're late! You owe me a damn socket wrench!"

The message leaves and darkness returns. On instinct I light a tiny, miniscule ball of fire at the tip of my finger that illuminates the entire room. (Personally, I'd like to think I look scary as Heath Ledger-slash-Joker.)

Piper's upset. Jason's freaking out to the point his hair's sparking with high voltage static electricity.

"Talk," I say. I gave them my blessing for a reason – and if Jason wasn't going to do the honorable thing, then –

"Piperwantstohavesex!"

– Oh. Erm.

**Author's Note: **

In truth, I made this story for the heck of it. :D;; So the plot's kinda add-as-we-go-along. It'll erm, raise in the future. Thanks so much for reading! Reviews would be nice! c:**  
**


	3. How the Valdez Charm Handles a Problem

**Chapter III**: How the Valdez Charm Handles a Problem

**LPOV**

So Jason has the cutely annoying tendency to ramble whenever he's nervous. He's hard of hearing, (and, well, maybe that's how the big guy gets away with bedding everything with two legs and sensitive nipples while my old babysitter/goddess of marriage and childbirth and blah blah blah, I'm in love with her champion. Being the mother of the gods, I bet I'm going to Greek/Roman hell for it anyway. …unless I figure out how Jason Sr. got around that rule. Hmm.)

Grace talks for hours while I'm on my bed, tinkering with my tool belt. He doesn't notice that while he's been panicking, I've successfully invented the Game Leo Color in – wait_ for it – _high definition LED with motion sensor and rainbow hologram! For IMing! AKA, Iris Messaging. Get it, get it?

It's one in the morning when I finally give up, lung forward, and ask him impatiently, "What's the problem?"

Jason stops his rambling, and I suddenly notice with all the static electricity is getting into my hair and creating a very stunning Leo-Afro. Pfft, lucky for him that he's sporting a fucking sexy crop-top. I glare and he mumbles a quick sorry. Nervous Jason – cute. Leo with an afro – ehh, I'm gorgeous. Just not _my_ gorgeous. "I think Piper wants to take it to the next level and…I-I've never been with anyone."

Oh. Yeah. That's what I say, too – "Oh. Right." – and for an instance, it doesn't matter to me. Then it slaps me in the face. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa – "You're nineteen, a child of Zeus, and you're still a virgin?"

"Uh." His cheeks turn bright red. Whoop—now they're dark red. What's a pigment darker than super dark red before you hit black? "Yeah."

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I've known Jason since we were fifteen, and even then – before I realized I was in love with the guy – he looked like a sex god. Jason comes from a broken family; his sister is Greek and he's Roman, and the time where they're not together or at separate camps, he lived with Annabeth in the good ol' Cali.

California. Los Angelos. The city of super naughty, super hot angels. However, my man, Jason sticks to his family history and is very reserved. Sometimes I wonder – Dude. You're the son of Zeus/Jupiter. _Go hump something._ But living in the shadow of a father like that has to be irritating.

So I can see it. Despite those cunning electric blue eyes and Sex God (literally) hair, Jason's a gentleman. Jason wanting a good lay is highly unlikely. But Jason, I say to myself, unconsciously yanking at one of my curls, would do anything for Piper. He positively loves her.

"You're doing that thing with your hair again."

"Dammit!"

Why does he have to notice things? I casually shrug it off, instead looking to my best friend, and wished he wasn't an analyzer.

"So uh, what's the problem again?" His eyes flicker, brow contorting and I remind myself this isn't the first time he's had to speak his shame. It's the third.

While he convinces himself that he's rationalizing the situation as he repeats what he's said for an hour, my thoughts go elsewhere and my fingers tinker with the nuts and the bolts coming from my tool belt. It isn't easy being in love with your best friend.

Actually, it isn't easy at first to realize after eighteen years of chasing girls that are way out of my league, you suddenly like the sausage. When someone says "Did you just wake up one day and decided, blah blah blah – " Sorta. I kinda feel like one day, I woke up and decided, "Whoa, Jason's drop-dead gorgeous. I want him."

I-I really don't want to get into detail about that. Zoning back in, I realize that next to my GameLeo Color, I've made a Leotendo DSi, and Jason is staring at me. I don't want to get into detail about Piper and his sex life, either. So considering I'm the best man rather than the bride, I sit up in my bed, eyes narrowing and shrug. "Eh."

"Eh?" Wrong answer? Jason's blond eyebrows furrow, defeated. "I really thought...since you're..."

"Piper's like my sister." I really don't want to hear about your sex life. "Imagining you two make out is kind of odd." I really don't want to hear about your sex life. "You really think I want to hear about you, in bed – " I stop there. You, in bed, naked with my fucking sister doing the horizontal tango and moaning her name? Turn-off City. If I say it to his face, I don't know what he'll do. And I really don't want to hear about his sex life.

"I – " He stops too. Ooh, the Leotendo has a fingerprint reader! Go me!

"Talk to her," I say. It takes all my will power to give him one look, and I dunno how I conjure a grin. "This is Beauty Queen we're talking about, Grace. She isn't a heart breaker, like Drew can be. Piper is a total babe. If she wanted to get in your pants, then she would have – but she wants love and...love." I mentioned the Leotendo's fingerprint reader, right? I'm not looking at him anymore.

The more we speak, the harder it becomes to pay attention. I deny that thought in my mind about Piper, and the mantra loudly screams in my head – she's practically my sister. "Can you...give me some advice?"

Speaking of Drew, she was the last girl I touched in a while. Blowing a bang out of my face, I fail to suppress the irritating memory of her moans. She sounded like a cat having its internal organs ripped out. "Boobs."

"Boobs?"

"_Boobs_." I look up to him, a little amused that he's still trying to comprehend my suggestion. Hey, did you know this thing has a fingerprint reader? "They're not there for decoration. Fondle them – just not in front of me." He's totally a squirmer.

"But..."

"Like I said – talk to Piper about it." Fingerprint reader. Yeah. "Plan things out. Gods know you need stability in that pretty life of yours, Grace. Talk about how you want to do it with her – condoms, birth control. Make sure you both have gotten tested, what time." Fuck, they could decide what color lingerie Piper would wear. I don't give a damn.

"What if..." Jason doesn't like being vulnerable. It always hits me – slaps me hard – when I remember that Jason doesn't like showing weakness. It's a trait from his father; needing to put on the facade that reassures everyone everything's going to be okay even if he's dying inside. "What if I'm no good?"

Then it's not meant to be.

You're fooling yourself, bud, because that means you and Pipes are totally not compatible. Instead, I say, "Oh, you'll be good."

"But I – "

"Dude," I try not to seethe, "You had me lying to my best friend because of your problems. And you owe me a socket wrench. And you'd give me a heart attack if you ever held a flashlight over my stuff! Especially this project!"

Jason falls silent. Guilt hums in my ears, and I know that's not the reason I'm angry at him. Well, the flashlight thing offends me a little bit, but I leave that out. Jason's ability to function in bed is something I want to think about – especially if I'm in my boxers. Seriously, who else is glad it's too dark for him to see my face? Leo Jr. is feeling a little shy, too, if you know what I'm saying.

"I'm sorry."

Fortunately for him, I relax a little. Mad Jason is rare, but scary. Guilty Jason is just uncalled for. Through the darkness (and fuck it, I swear! His eyes glow in the dark!) I look at him. "Nah, dude. I'll figure something out for you in the morning. A'ight?"

Other note to self: stick to Spanish. I feel Jason's smile. He touches my bare ankle for half a second, and I tell my body to stop heating up.

"Thanks, Leo."

"No problem. Now go to sleep."

"Alright – where you going?"

I set down my Leotendo down, unable to look him in the face and grumble under my breath, "Cold shower."

Thankfully I'm covered so deep in oil, grease, soot, and any other unbearably nice odor that Jason doesn't question it. I shift uncomfortably as I leave the dorm room, cursing. Will Solace offers a pity "hi" and I bite a greeting through my teeth.

Stupid Jason with his stupid girlfriend problems and his stupid touches and his stupid girlfriend problems and his stupid stupidity.

Hey, did you know my Leotendo has a fingerprint scanner?

**JPOV**

The next morning, there's an explosion. Annabeth Iris Messages me frantically in the morning while I'm still asleep. Leo's classes start at nine, and I don't have my first one until one. I sleep in like I always do on Tuesday mornings, but she's freaking out. Well, quite frankly, I don't blame her. Blearily looking at the Iris message, it takes me a minute to register what she's just said.

Then a second later, when the sentence, "Leo wasn't paying attention to the nitrogen levels and was caught in an explosion during class!" gets through my thick skull, I trip over my PJ pants and five minutes of running through campus with my PJ pants sagging once in a while later, I make it to the infirmary. Annabeth and Piper are waiting when I get there.

"Jason!" Piper breathes. She runs to me, hands gripping my bicep, but I barely register her. Instead, my eyes go to Annabeth, who's pacing back and forth. "How is he?" I ask. She cocks her head, finally realizing that I've arrived, and grimaces. "Leo seemed dazed all morning. He told me he spent a chunk of the time on his half of the project, and I guess he wasn't paying attention. He..."

"He should be fine," I say. I don't think I'm even fooling myself. "He can't get burnt – he's a kid of Vulcan, after all."

"But the force could have knocked him over." Annabeth isn't one who spares details. Her gray eyes flicker and she shakes her head. "It was a bad explosion, Jason. Really bad."

Leo's a fighter. If he knows he has a chance of getting his way, he goes through with it. I open my mouth to say that exact thing, but they're worried. Secretly, I'm worried, too. Finally a nurse comes from the door with some shiny pearly whites and blond hair. A Phoebus kid, no doubt. She looks around, then to me with a knowing smile.

"Jason Grace?" I nod. "Mister Valdez should be fine in a few days. He won't be allowed to go to his classes for the rest of the week, and you'll have to make he takes this prescription. Would you like to see him?"

Nodding, I flash a reassuring smile to the girls and do as she says, relief flowing through my body. Leo – what was he thinking? Really. He was the kind of kid who could do things in his sleep, like building a life-size replica of the Eiffel Tower or something, and I laugh every time I wake up in the middle of the night to him sleep-drilling.

A guilty smile works its way on my face. I should buy him that socket wrench for forgiveness. Maybe it was my fault for mentioning Piper, lying to Piper, and all of those things that got him worked up.

Suddenly I freeze when I make it to his bed. My mind blanks, and I open my mouth to speak, but can't.

Leo Valdez sits there, cheeks flushed and completely unaware that I catch him making out with a guy.

**Author's Note: **

Soo, for the first time ever I got my first homophobic review for this story. And it made me laugh my butt off; I thought I would never get one. :DD Thanks so much for reading this story. I meant to update it a lot sooner, but my computer died…the week before I got my new one. :D So I recovered most of the chapter, but I only skimmed to make sure everything was there. I hope you liked this chapter! Reviews would be nice!


	4. When Jason's Gracefully Curious

**Chapter IV: **When Jason's Grace-fully Curious

Right. Sooo, how does the Leonater end up making out with Will Solace in the infirmary? I don't know.

The morning started out crappy. The oddest dream came to mind – one that I still don't remember, but spooks the shit out of me. When my eyes landed to the sleeping potato on the other side of the room, it hit me hard. The dream was about Jason. I got dressed, painfully ignoring Leo Jr. before venturing off.

The entire time on the way to the Hephaestus building, I realized the possibility of Jason losing his virginity to Piper bothered me more than I even let on to myself. It's not that Jason's with Piper. It's the fact that he wants to have sex with Piper – take the chastity belt off to her. All this time, not making my move when I could have, and Jason falls for her.

Seriously falls for her. Some could shrug it off as me being overprotective and clingy (well, does she know what pair of boxers Jason's wearing today? Polka dots! Gotta be polka dots!), but I'm worried for him. My worry ends up being my downfall. Somewhere in my confusion, I mixed the wrong chemicals, and it ends up exploding in my face. Literally.

There isn't a burn like you'd expect, but he force of the explosion sweeps me off my feet and I hit a desk with my head. Hard. After that, Annabeth's screaming my name and half the students surround me.

Do I say anything? Do I notice them? Not likely.

I'm still buzzed when they carry me to the infirmary, and I realize my head hurts while Will and some nurse approaches me.

Getting injured from fighting was noble and pretty cool.

A Hephaestus kid having his own experiment explode on him was not.

I dunno what happened, man. One minute, she's feeding me ambrosia and I'm trying to comprehend what she's saying. The next, all I see are sparkling blue eyes and blond hair.

In a sense, they look nothing alike. Will has these little Goldilocks curls that are platinum blond, and sky blue eyes. Jason's cropped hair makes him look more authoritative, and his electric blue eyes snap me out of sleep. I don't see that.

"Thanks for taking me to the mall today," I say goofily. What happened, anyway? "It was a blast."

The cool blond guy chuckles lightly. I pretend it's Jason's laugh. "You could call it a 'blast', Valdez. How are you feeling?"

How am I feeling? I'm apparently imagining that blond hair being chopped off, and waiting for those blue eyes to storm with electricity. Hmm. I guess a little lightheaded with that gnawing pain eating up my leg. I think I'm a little horny, too. Yeah. I'm definitely horny. Common sense is lost. I prop myself up, hand brushing through Blondie's hair. "A little horny."

He doesn't know what to say. The This Old Man song is humming straight in my head, and I kiss him. It's not that chaste – some tongue on tongue action – but it isn't the best kiss in the world. Blondie's shocked, and I use this to my advantage to grip his shirt.

Then the ambrosia kicks in.

I pull away, eyes double three times in size while Solace gasps for air. "Um, my bad, dude. It won't happen again."

Fortunately Will isn't the type to hold grudges. He looks at me inquisitively, but the urge to rip off my head doesn't seem to be there. Instead he turns bright pink, and all thoughts about Apollo come to mind. Apollo is like, bi, isn't he? Will opens his mouth to say something, but I catch something else in the corner of my eye. A bad something.

Jason stands there, mouth agape, and I don't have to ask if he saw what I just did. Will closes his mouth, simply lowering his gaze, and presses a hand on top of mine. "Let me go get your stuff and Grace can take you back to the dorm."

"Okay," I say. It comes out like a broken string on a violin. Jason just saw me kiss a guy. Jason just saw me _make out_ with another guy. _Jason just saw me tongue-fuck someone!_ Will leaves, and the room becomes a white cell in an insane asylum.

"So…," Jason says to break the awkward silence. "Are you okay?"

Great. Perfect. Fine. It's not that I totally want to get in your pants or anything or have been hiding it for the past year or anything or that you just saw me kissing another guy that reminded me of you and probably makes you realize that _I might be in love with you or anything!_ "Eh. I've been better."

Better is right. Better means yesterday you were annoying the shit out of me about Pipes and thought of me as your best friend. "So, um. That kiss…? Post trauma? You mistake Solace for Annabeth?"

Oh. Post trauma. That was…that was a good excuse. It's an ingenious excuse, actually. "No, dude. I'm gay."

Fuck you, Valdez. Jason stares at me, eyes three times their size as I grip the bed sheets. Somewhere on the other side of the room Will is grabbing my tool belt, and I refuse the urge to burst into flames. I can do it, you know. "O…Oh."

His voice is as high as Piper's. I pretend not to notice and wish Will would hurry up with my tool belt so I could do some nervous-building. I'm good at nervous-building.

"But in your case…aren't you bi?" Wait. What? Looking up, I see that Jason's face was still the same: nervous, overwhelmed and a little shocked (damn he's adorable), but also genuinely curious. "Weren't you chasing Marina Clearwater yesterday?"

Ooh, Marina Clearwater was a hottie. Unfortunately she failed in comparison to the Grace Siblings. Looking at his face again, I try to conjure up some nerve so we can have a civilized conversation. This could actually work. "Well…Y-Yeah. You're right. I guess I'm bi."

Jason looks like he's trying to process more than he can chew. I wait, ready for him to run out of the room, but he doesn't. "How so?"

Uh. "Well…guys like Solace, I guess. Call me crazy, but I just see the same qualities I look for in a chica." Only, you know, with something dangling between the their legs. "Cute ass, cute walk. Erm, nice hair, hot face, pretty eyes…gods, could this be any more awkward?"

Jason doesn't hear my little joke. He's locked in his own little world, and the way he stares at me makes my pants tighter. No, seriously. The pink of his face darkens to a nice shade of red and a look of uncertainty passes through his eyes. "Have you ever checked out any of our friends?"

Does Zeus know where babies come from?

"Sorta," I say admittedly. "You know I check out your sister whenever I get the chance. Sometimes I look at Piper – and Gods, we know she's a looker." I see a crackle in Jason's hands and decide not to touch that subject. "But I've also seen the Stoll brothers. Travis's got a sex smile and Percy's got the face of a movie star."

That weirds him out. He tries not to show it, but it's obvious he's still trying to process this bit of information. "Have you ever...felt anything…for me?"

Ever since I've known you. If I tell him that, I know he won't take it well. The scene runs through my head; me telling Jason that I'm in love with him. It wouldn't work out – I know it never will. If I told him that I'm in love with him, I would get rejected. He'd still want to be good friends, but from then on Jason would watch his every move. He would try not to lead me on, and eventually grow too uncomfortable around me. Jason is the closest friend I've ever had – not even Piper measures up to him.

Instead, I say, "You, Grace, are you. Corazoncito, you're my best friend and nothing will change that."

"Oh." Good. Hopefully because of my stupidity, it _won't_ change anything. "So…does this mean I have to start treating you like a girl now?"

And drill me into bed? Oh, heck yes. "No. I'd rather you not. Can we uh, not mention this to the girls, by the way?"

"Yeah," he says. It apparently takes a load off all the thoughts in his mind. Jason still won't look me in the eye. Instead he turns his head and gestures toward the door. "Come on, I'll buy you a smoothie before my next class. Whatever you want."

Oh, cool. "Great."

He hesitates when touching my shoulder, and allows me to lean on him. The scent of ambrosia and lightning zing my nostrils, and I bury my nose in his shoulder. I wasn't given a lot of ambrosia, apparently. My coordination skills could be better.

Jason jumps and I almost fall over. He catches me, hand on my waist and I squeak. Those electric blue eyes never look my way. "Sorry, man! S…Sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." Good going, Valdez. You took one step forward – and a kajillion steps back.

**Author's Note: **

These are fun and easy excerpts to write. xD; I feel kinda bad that this isn't as serious of a story as it could be (since the fandom is severely lacking). In the future (far or near; who knows) I'm planning on writing a thorough, engaging action-y story for you guys for Jason/Leo. That sound good?


	5. Which Way Leo Really Swings

**Chapter V: **Which Way Leo Really Swings

**JPOV**

I can't look him in the face. No matter how I try, looking Leo Valdez in the face simply becomes impossible, but I'm not sure _why_. He told me just the other day, after all, that we were just friends. _You are you. Corazoncito, You're my best friend and nothing will change that._ Even coming from a gay (scratch that, _bi_) guy, everyone knows that avoiding a question like that meant you didn't like someone. Reyna and I had an on and off relationship through all of high school, and by the time we got to OU, we were both fed up. "It's not you, it's me."

No, just kidding. Reyna was the blunt type, being from the Vulcan Cabin and all. Technically she and Leo are half-siblings, but those were complicated logistics they never touched upon. I think they tried dating once before finding out that they came from the same cabin on different parts of the country and could end up with a, "one-eyed, two-thousand-ton, five-thousand headed baby." She liked to get her hands messy, and that toothy grin made her unbearably adorable. However, her intellect was better suited for a Minerva boy, and we both knew it.

So it wasn't just, "It's not you, it's me." It was: "You lack my vocabulary and every time we kiss, you fry the circuits on my watch. We're through. _For good._"

Which was fine. By the time Reyna was out of my life, she was still one of my best girl friends, and Piper and I hit it off. She wasn't stupid, but she didn't know how to construct a car with her bare hands and speak metal head to me. If I wanted to date someone who burped loudly, bounced off the walls, and always kept me on my feet, I would date – Leo.

Which is what's on my mind. I can't decide if him basically saying, "No worries, I'm not attracted to you," relieves or offends me.

It's Leo Valdez, the guy who _always_ knows how to put a smile on my face. We've pissed each other off on occasion, but that's what typical guys do. As half-bloods that have gone on missions with one another, he's my partner in crime. Two mortal guys don't get as close as we do to hide from Cyclopes, Medea, Midas, and all the other annoyances in the air. There were times where we were body-to-body – more intimate than I've gotten with Piper, even, because she's a _girl_…and. Yeah.

How doesn't it hit me that my best friend likes guys, too? Do I treat him differently? No. He says he doesn't want to be handled like a girl, and I don't intend to treat him like one. Maybe my ego's just bruised, because I'm so close to the guy that I didn't already know – this is something we would talk about. Leo and I talk about things. He jokes, I say something serious, feel guilty for lecturing him, and he rolls his eyes before going –

"Will you stop that?"

I blink and snap out of my thoughts. "Stop what?"

Leo is the type of person who likes to stare at himself in the mirror. Granted it's a little narcissistic, but there's no way he can get burnt by his inventions and the thickness of clothes (what I assume) keeps him from getting in tune with his latest ideas. He likes to create things in his boxers.

Er, not in his boxers _literally_, but…be _in_ his boxers, when he's. Um. Erm. You know what I mean.

Right now my best friend has his eyes on a magazine full of socket wrenches. Not a catalog – which seems absolutely fitting, but an actual_ mythical magazine _called the _Hephaestimes _full of tools and articles from Vulcan/Hephaestus kids with tips. At first I didn't believe Reyna when she squealed getting the "ninetieth issue," but living with Leo, he clearly took it seriously.

When I come back to reality for a second time, Leo's crispy brown eyes are staring me in the face, absolutely serious. He sighs, but it isn't his impish, diva sigh that he uses whenever Piper is being unreasonable, or when I'm being a, "hopeless lug of a corazoncito."

"You and I haven't had a conversation about _anything_ in the past day and a half – which normally is fine. Damn, you're with Beauty Queen most of that time." Leo does something with his eyes and I'm not sure what to say. "But it's Tuesday and you still won't look me in the eye."

I know. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he grumbles. Ceasing control, Leo drops his head and flips a page. The conversation is left at a stalemate with nothing else to say.

"I don't know what I'm freaking out about." Or not. There are these little, itty bitty quirks not many people know about Leo Valdez. Everyone knows he's got the power over fire, but he dislikes bragging about it. Leo does this thing with his hair, where when he's thinking or nervous, he grabs a curl and just starts rubbing it. When someone says something that leaves Leo speechless (rarely does this happen), his eyebrow twitches so fast that seeing it is near impossible.

Then there's the way he scrunches his nose. The wrinkle on the bridge of his nose between his eyes is so miniscule, not even Piper knows it's there. Leo's fingers normally twitch when he's upset, and they tense ever-so-slightly in attempt to calm himself down. The crinkle in his nose, a line so crooked and sad, appears very rarely. During those rare occurrences, I always wonder if he's about to cry.

After my last class that afternoon, I came by with a smoothie for my best friend and we sat there in silence. His fingers have been tense, and just now, his nose scrunched when I apologized. I don't want to lose a friendship over something so trivial and freaking me out. He was my first choice for any mission – _always._

"You're my best friend and always know how to put a smile on my face, Leo." Looking down to the plate of untouched tacos, I scoot them closer to Leo and wait. "Remember when Reyna and I broke up? You told me to suck it up and be more like you. And the thought just made me laugh. Dunno how the hell you pull it off, but…you always make me laugh, dude."

A feeling of relief washes over me as a small smile teases Leo's lips, and I decide to continue.

"It's not…_you_ freaking me out." And it's true. "It's that, you've been through my crap for years now, and I'm so stupid that I couldn't figure out that you, erm. Swung for the other team. You're right. I'm a 'hopeless lug of a corazoncito.'"

Leo laughs. It's this cackle laugh that he gets, and I feel like I'm missing out on a joke.

"What? Did I use it wrong? What does 'corazoncito' even mean, anyway?" It'd been a word he added to his vocabulary a few months back when we started our sophomore year. Leo brings up the name whenever we're alone, and I've yet to figure out what it means. The word itself is just fun to hear from his mouth.

"Oh, my little heart." Leo finally ceases and wipes a tear from his face, other hand clutching his chest. "You wound me, Grace. How are you and Pipes doing, by the way?"

The subject changes with the atmosphere. That smile spreads across Leo's lips – his Latino Santa's elf smile with cheeks a misleading, airbrushed red. Something in my chest does something, and I contemplate for a moment before realizing…it's good. Seeing Leo's smile again makes my heart flutter.

"You touch her boobs yet?"

My cheeks burn red and I open my mouth to speak. Nothing comes out.

"Figures." Leo stretches his arms, and realization dawns upon me that not one slick of soot can be seen on his body. For someone who loved to build, why hasn't he built anything? Taking my silence as a sign of disappointment, Leo reaches over the table and places a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, dude. Don't worry about Piper's boobs, okay?"

"Why would I worry?"

"Why _wouldn't_ you, Grace?" Our relationship has always been like this – I say something most people mistake for an order, but Leo just takes my tongue and twists my words. If Hitler had Leo on his side, the world would never take one of the world's greatest dictators seriously.

"Piper's been worried about you since your little collision yesterday." I shrugged and noted the sun was setting. "Since you're confined to your room for the rest of the week, she's going to be visiting you."

"And could you look her in the face? I know you, Jason. A step like this, you two are like two little middle-schoolers that freak out at the 'F' word." Although he has a good point, Leo's eyes wander around the room and he grabs his tool belt.

I blink. The other night, I'd bugged Leo about taking a step like this in my relationship with Piper. The moment I realized what she wanted, I ran out the girls' dorms and didn't want anything to do with her. The mention of my girlfriend after the talk with Leo jumbled all my thoughts.

But when I saw her yesterday morning; freaking out and panicking because Leo did something stupid, I forgot about the next step in our relationship and wrapped my arms around her like a couple.

"No…," I say slowly, and the thought actually makes sense. "The first time we saw each other was when we heard about your accident. But…when I saw Piper, I forgot about that. You were more important, Leo."

He stops building, eyes rising in surprise. They double in size, and I'm not sure what's going through his head. Leo tugs at his hair – his _nervous tug_ – and looks back down before quietly saying, "Oh."

"Yeah."

He's quiet again, but it's a different quiet. Leo grabs a taco and quietly munches on it, and his lips curve upward, tension high. It suddenly gets a degree or two hotter, and I shed my windbreaker, relief finally flooding through my veins. Leo's always been this way, getting excited over little, confusing things and trying to restrain himself from either exploding with delight or anger.

Maybe that's another thing.

"So," I start softly, pink brushing across my cheeks. "Have you ever…um. Done it _that_ way?"

Looking up from his magazine, Leo drips crumbs and taco sauce everywhere on our small little table. He arches an eyebrow and tilts his head. "In what way?"

"Erm." Couldn't I be any simpler? "Have you ever been with a guy?"

"Huh? _Oh._" Again, his eyes widen, and I hold back a grimace while he swallows down the taco like a chipmunk. Gods, how can a guy so tiny wolf down so much junk food? Embarrassment flutters across his features, and Leo tugs on his hair again while consulting his inner turmoil. "Um. A couple of times. Same dude, you know?"

Then why haven't I heard of this? "Was this the turning point for you?"

"A bit. Travis and I were being pretty stupid at the time, and we were a little drunk. Got together a few times, but nothing horrible."

"Wait, wait – " _Travis Stoll?_ The same Travis Stoll that filled the water fountain with nacho cheese? The _same Travis Stoll_ that could guess a girl's bra size even when they were under a marshmallow jacket during the winter?

"Oh. Oops." That's the other thing I didn't notice: he wasn't embarrassed that I was asking him a question on his sex life; Leo brags to anyone when he's scored with a girl (and told me the personal horrors each girl has, like Drew). He was more embarrassed on _Travis's_ part. "It was nice while it lasted. Told you he had a sex smile."

Maybe it's just me, but the horror's clear on my face. A knock on the door tears Leo's attention away from me. He stands on his feet, grabs another taco, and wanders toward the door. I watch, and all of the questions from yesterday ring in my ears.

_Call me crazy, but I just look for the same qualities I look for in a chica. _

Guys were chicos, right? It was an easy change.

Leo had a tan, just like Piper, but mostly because he was half-Latino. Piper was Indian, and absolutely beautiful, but she preferred hiding herself in the background; cutting odd ends in her hair, dressing in clashing colors – _anything_ to draw the attention away from her. I suppose if I was looking for the same qualities in a guy, Le_o_ could easily be my Le_a._

Over the holidays, Leo likes getting a crack out of kids by dressing up as a Santa elf, which works because he makes toys in a flash for little kids. His hair is a curly mop, and he's still growing out of his baby face that makes him absolutely adorab – a little kid. In his boxers, you can tell that he's built from lifting heavy metal or his big hammer, but I've got more bulk. A smile spreads across my face.

Vulcan kids aren't known for being very attractive. Charles Beckendorf was said to be a gargantuan that made monsters cry for their mommies with hands bigger than his face. Reyna has a split in the middle of her teeth, but Leo? He used to have these really cute, really big ears. Being more of a tech producer rather than the lead role, he was a bit more petite than the rest of his cabin.

It was like a population of muscular Steve Urkels, and Zac Efron stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Hey." The moment the door opens, I notice Leo's tone had dropped three octaves. He opens the door wider and gestures to me. "Your boyfriend's right here, Pipes."

Red flutters across my cheeks, and the reminder of _taking it to the next level_ with Piper comes rushing back. I stand to my feet, nervous, but Piper isn't even looking my way. Instead a cunning, Piper-like smile spreads across her lips and she shakes her head before acknowledging my presence. "Actually I wanna catch up with Leo a bit. Jason, can you go get us some smoothies?"

Leo grins and tugs at the end of her leather jacket before wiggling his eyebrows. "Pick up some donuts on the way."

Oh. "Sure."

I grab the empty plate and throw it in the trash before leaving the room. Over my shoulder, I can hear Leo crack a joke, and immediately Piper elbows him like a playful sister. When I first got to know Piper, there was one thing that was absolutely clear: Piper and Leo were attached at the hip. Anything one did they consulted the other, and he had to tell me a thousand times they weren't dating before I believed him.

Once we started going out, there was something about his smile that was never the same. A part of me still thinks he may have feelings for her, but Leo isn't the type to make a move when he knows it isn't right. When I think I'm not good enough for Piper, he's the first one who comes to mind that would be better.

I wonder, I think as I grab a box of donuts in the Roman Student Union, do they notice I'm always the third wheel when they're together?

**Author's Note: **

Thank you so much for the reviews! Anyway, since the last chapter unintentionally was all Leo's, I figured why not write all of this in Jason's? Again, thank you, and I can't wait to write more in the future. C: **  
**


	6. Where Grace is the Subject in Query

**Chapter VI: **Where Grace is the Subject in Query

**LPOV **

Piper likes to cut her hair herself.

When we were little, before we found out which cabins we came from, Pipes had always been the prettiest girl in school—not that anyone noticed or cared. Through choppy bangs and baggy clothes she stole from my closet, most people spared her only half a glance before ogling Marcia Powers, whether it was because she had the big 120-Pack of Crayola Crayons or if her skirt could double as a belt. She was hot, but Beauty Queen was beautiful. Her face is perfectly symmetrical, tan from her Indian heritage, and she's tall. Her body's muscular, but not Ares-inflated, and any guy could get lost in her curves. She dresses like an Athena girl now, rather than cleavage, mascara, and face-lift central like the rest of the Aphrodite girls, and I'm sure people mistake her for being Roman.

The funny thing is, even when I'm checking Piper out, I can't honestly check her out.

Even when we were little, if I looked at her chest, or stared at her eyes, there was no sex drive. When it comes to Piper McLean, I can say she's hot, but I, Leo Valdez, do not get a stiffie when my best friend is around.

She leans onto my bed, smile as relaxed as every other day I see her, and I pull out a box of goodies from the chest at the foot of my mattress. Taking out a blender, I pull out some strawberries, ambrosia, and bananas from the tool belt and set them all on the desk that separates my bed from Jason's. "Veggie smoothies?"

Piper squints. "What's the point in telling Jason to waste is money, _buying_ smoothies—"

"Don't ask me, chica. You're the one who told him to. Got him wrapped around your little finger." I flash a grin, conjuring a knife, and began making slices. "And he takes forever coming from the Roman Student Union."

"So…we're going to _drink smoothies_ while Jason is _buying smoothies_ to pass the time until he comes back?"

"Sounds like it. Guava or pomegranate?"

"Pomegranate."

"You never choose that unless something's troubling you." Oh, don't get me started on sophomore year when she had a thing for spinach in everything she ate. There's a difference between respecting your best friend's decision to be a vegetarian, and then it being downright _disturbing._ Looking up, I see her contemplating on my bed, eyebrows pulled together and eyes very distant. "Alright, what's so wrong that Grace can't be around?"

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" She's not really curious. I know Pipes better than my toolbox, and she can spot me off kilter better than…than Jason.

"Humor me," I say dryly, then summon a carton of milk from my belt. Hmm, it was supposed to expire tomorrow. Oh well; let's not tell her that.

"Well…I mean…" Her voice softens, and I'm pretty sure I already know what the problem is. Seriously; Jason and Piper basically scream _puppy love_, which is cool on some levels. Just understand—they're more predictable than an episode of Full House.

"You wanna know if your relationship with Jason is on the rocks because he hasn't talked to you since the infamous proposal between Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase," I speculate without batting an eyelash. I pull my goggles overhead, add some sugar, and shove the lid on top of the blender.

"No!"

"_Yes." _

"Alright, yeah." I can feel her blushing over the blender. Piper has _never_ been the lovey-dovey type, despite being from the Aphrodite Cabin. She doesn't expect chocolates or roses, and it's hard for her to express her feelings because she hates feeling vulnerable. Maybe that's what makes her so appealing to Jason: she isn't clingy, and she isn't demanding. His Reyna days included him sitting on the other side of the table with a stupid look while she spoke about hardwires, AC/DC adaptors, and nuclear transfusion. "It's just…has he said anything about me?"

"Yup."

"And…you're not going to tell me?"

"Pretty much." I stop the blender and pull out two glasses to pour them in. Piper looks troubled, and although I feel majorly bad for her, there's nothing I can do in my position. Instead, I pop onto the bed right next to her, small smile spreading across my lips, and hand her one strawberry-pomegranate-and-banana smoothie. Trust me, they taste a lot better than they sound. "Hey—you're in a good place in your relationship with Jason. It's not like you had a fight or anything."

"Are you sure?" She offers a pointed look and gulps down her smoothie like it's in a shot glass. Not wanting to feel left out, I do the same thing. "I mean…after Percy's proposal, he just wasn't the same, and wouldn't look me in the eye or anything, and…" She blushes. "We always kiss before he drops me off."

"Right, right. Don't think I really wanna hear about your love life. Wait—that's what we're discussing, never mind." Well, that was stupid of me. I mentally slap myself—Pipes has always chosen me whenever she had a problem with boys and, voila, here we are today. Thoughts flutter back, and I think to when they first met each other, shy and bashful. Even then, it was obvious, but…my own feelings weren't. A crooked frown shows itself on my face, and I snap out of my thoughts when Piper taps me on the knee. "Look, it's not like he's going to marry you or something."

Should have been clearer with my words. Immediately the hurt appears across her face, torn and a bit offended. "You...don't think he wants to marry me?"

Well, damn. "Well, not _now_!" I look to her, eyes narrowed and a little panicked. There was still a bruise on my back from the _last _time I offended her. "I mean…Percy and Annabeth are a different case. They've known each other since they were what, eleven? And they're in their last year of college. Annabeth isn't going to push the marriage, and if Percy's smart, he's not gonna push it either until college is over."

"Right, right." She nodded, and thankfully, her worries seemed to have deteriorated.

"I know you've only had one other relationship before Jason—and that ended poorly, by the way," I say wryly, gesturing to myself. Obviously we wouldn't have excluded each other as potential partners if we hadn't tried the dating that least once. Making out was just awkward. She sticks her tongue out and rolls her eyes. "And you're a virgin."

"What makes you think I'm—"

"_You're a virgin_," I bite through my teeth. Chest bubbling, I push the feeling aside and demand my body to drop in temperature by at least thirty degrees. Looking back at her, I finish my smoothie and she wipes the mustache off my face. "And Jason is your first _serious_ relationship, like, ever. The only other girl he's ever dated is Reyna, and trust me chica, that did not end as well as he likes people to think."

Red flutters across her face, and Piper says nothing, simply looking into space while I analyze her.

"Okay, let's put it this way." Getting off the bed, I push things aside and clean up the area before Jason can accuse me for making him do my bidding. "Jason. Can you picture yourself marrying Jason?"

She falls silent. I don't know if I really wanna hear the answer.

Damn being a best friend. Piper's face is mixed with trouble, and a bit of contemplation, so I change up the question a little. "Yes, no? Maybe so?"

"Y…_Yeah?_ I guess? We've only been dating nine months, but…I dunno. Two years from now, I might not feel the same way." Totally. Two years ago I didn't think I would be head-over-heels in love with my guy best friend, either. Piper pushes hair out of her face and nervously looks me in the eye. She's a realist upon being the coolest girl I know. "And maybe, two years from now, I'll still be feeling the same way. Percy and Annabeth have been dating since they were _sixteen._ That's five years, and…for love to last that long…"

"Being children of the Gods, I dunno if our parents are good examples," I point out. I scoot closer to her and grab a shirt to wear. "Alright. Let's think smaller. Do you wanna have his kids?"

"_That's supposed to be smaller_?" Piper nearly shrieks, and I laugh despite my heart suffocating my esophagus. It's as painful as it sounds—trust me.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," I grin. "Do you…want to have sex with the guy?"

She isn't speaking, and I already know the answer to it. Jason tends to be dense with the intake, but with his heart in the right place, what he claimed was the truth. Her cheeks are bright red, and I place a hand over hers, waiting for an answer. "I…I think so."

"Good for you," I say. My heart breaks a little.

"Well," she begins urgently, "Do you think it's too early? Being only nine months and all? Do you…Do you think I should wait? What if I'm bad? What if he doesn't like me in—"

"Whoa, _whoa._" Great. Both of my best friends are worried about sex, but why am _I_ not getting any? I pull away, eyes narrowing to my girl best friend and put my hands on my hips. "How about you slow down a little?"

"Sorry." Piper turns pink and she smiles weakly before going, "But…what if he doesn't want to have sex with me?"

"To alleviate all your worries—" Cool. I just used a big word. "—Jason wouldn't have gotten together with you just for sex—and he isn't going to leave you because you're either, a: not good at sex, or b: don't want to have sex with him. I think you two are forgetting: it takes two to tango, and both of you have to be on board with this. Plus, he doesn't exactly have that much experience."

"You mean—"

"Yup."

"But he's the child of—"

"I know, right?" My eyes widen slightly, disbelieving that my best friend and I came up with the same conclusion.

Piper purses her lips, speculative, and looks back up to me. "Will you…help me?'

No. I really don't want to. I'm _pretty_ sure I've given their relationship enough damage control by, _you know_, falling in love with the big guy, and it's really just painful for me to—"Are diamonds a girl's best friend?"

Dammit, Valdez. Why do you have to ruin my train of thought? Piper sighs in relief, and you can see she's more reassured than before. "So…on the subject of, erm, _getting laid_, how are you in…that department?"

Ugh. "Remember," I grimace, "when you tried to distract your half-sister and put her in my hands?"

"I think she was trying to make Jason jealous." She snorts and rolls her eyes. Suddenly, realization hits her and the shock spreads across her face. "Wait, wait. That was over a month ago."

"She's ruined women for me!" I cry overdramatically and fall into her lap, hand pressed to my forehead. "No longer can I ogle women the same way! No longer can I picture myself with a woman! No longer can I pet cats without her _shrieks_ coming to mind! No longer may I love a woman!"

"Alright, alright." Beauty Queen rolls her eyes and pinches my cheeks. "I get it. No need for the overkill, Valdez."

"If _you're_ not going to speak the trials and tribulations of love in the name of your mother, then _I_ will." Narrowing my eyes, I smirk at my sister-slash-best-friend and grab her knee. Ticklish, she immediately squeals and flips our positions so I'm pressed to the bed with her straddling my hips, hands on the line of skin between my shirt and boxers. My face drops. "You wouldn't dare."

"Ready for a rematch Valdez?"

"_Oho, no_, McLean. No, nonono_no!"_ I flail and burst into giggles (that's right, Leo's not so chauvinistic that he wouldn't giggle!) and snatch up her arms. Unfortunately, Piper's only half an inch shorter than me myself, and we're both halfbloods. She shifts her weight to the right, and now she's on bottom, but her hands are free. She grabs my shirt, smirking, and I pout. "That is _so_ not fair."

"So," she says instead, voice falling. My expression disappears into curiosity as does hers and it promises that Pipes has my full attention. "If not a girl…what about a guy?"

Er. What?

"I'm right…right?" Piper raises her head, back pressing against my bed frame, and she doesn't let go of her hold. In fact, it may as well have tightened as she expectantly looks at me. "Leo? Answer me, please?"

"Oh, uh. Y-Yeah, you're right." My voice starts squeaking; something it hasn't done since middle school and red rises to my face. I look at her, overtaken by surprise and a bit of embarrassment. "U-Uh…y-yeah. You're right. How did you figure it out?"

She gives me a look, apparently offended once again, and I mentally slap myself. Duh. Child of Aphrodite.

"_Ri-ight._ That one's my bad." Nervously smiling, I poker in the side and readjust the both of us so that we're sitting side-to-side. "But you couldn't have just…_known_, right?"

"I think I've always known. And when the fact was brought out, it kinda just…made sense." She shrugs and nudges me in the arm lightly. A delicate frown spreads across her lips. "And I'm kinda getting tired of you admiring my dad's muscles in movies."

I blush. "I do not."

"Do too,_" _she challenges with another nudge. "Sorry to bring it up. It's just…if Jason doesn't realize it, and you don't _talk_ about it…what are the chances he's going to take the hint that…I wanna complete our relationship?"

"First of all," I start, "men are idiots. There's no way in reversing that."

She giggles. "And?"

"And I'll help you with this." I force a smile to my face and place a hand over hers. "But I'm not showing you how to roll a condom on his dick, understood?"

"Leo!" She slaps me in the arm.

"I also told him to be a little daring. I can't believe you two haven't gone to second base yet." I arch an eyebrow and gesture to her…assets. "I mean, really, Pipes? Why won't you let him touch your boobs?"

She gives me another look and immediately I stop. Right. I know egging her on like this means I'm just taking my feelings out on her. I…can't do that. Jason is straight, for one thing, and Piper is my best friend. Pulling them apart would just make me a bad friend—which sucks. Because I can't take sides when it comes to them, either.

"Promise me something?" I say softly, voice a little broken.

Piper flashes a look of concern and we sink into bed. "Yeah?"

"Take it slow. Don't do anything that you two aren't ready for." That…_I'm_ not ready for. I'm basically playing wingman for my best friends, and for the next month while they dance around this subject, I'll have to listen to _every freaking detail._ "Alright?"

"…you're the best little-big brother a girl could ask for, Valdez." She raises and kisses me on the cheek.

"Oh, you know it." Wait, _little-big?_ I'm still taller than her—!

"If I didn't know you two better, I'd say you were having an affair behind my back."

The scent of smoothies and donuts fill the air, and Piper and I prop ourselves over the bed, gazes following the third in our trio. He struggles with a smile, but the hesitation and ounce of jealousy are easily seen on his face. Jason is the jealous type.

I found this out early in their relationship—around the time they were still blindly chasing after one another, and I'd put a hand on Piper's waist, or she'd kiss me on the cheek. He gets these scrunches in his face, and the dimples aren't there whenever he smiles. It's probably his fatal flaw—otherwise, Zeus wouldn't strike every person that crossed his wife despite his sleeping around himself—and Jason hates it. His eyes immediately draw to me, like _I'm_ the perpetrator, and I shrug.

"Are those chocolate donuts?" I say instead. He hesitates and sets the box on our small coffee table.

Piper slides off my bed, and I watch as she stands at the tip of her toes, cutely shorter than the Roman Leader, and whispers into his ear. Fake smile gone, Jason's dimples appear along with a pink blush. I look away, hands going to the chocolate donuts, and push them to the back of my mind.

Everything Jason and Piper do together is predictable. Secret kisses, glancing when the other isn't looking, and exchanging cutesy 'I-Love-You's when they think no one is watching, and holding hands. Nick, Norah? Get a room.

Grabbing my pants, I slide them on and reach for my jacket.

"Where are you going?" Jason asks with concern. I never put pants on unless I'm leaving the dorm. "You're under house-arrest for the rest of the week, remember?"

"Mm…I need some air." I need to think. Need to clear my mind, get that pain out of my chest while the lovebirds get all ooey-gooey. "And these donuts are icky. Might as well go to Hestia's and get some food in my bones."

Please don't follow me please don't follow me please don't follow me—

"You're under house-arrest," Piper repeats after her boyfriend. "But it wouldn't hurt if we went with you. Right, Jason?"

"Uh…" He sounds doubtful, and still concerned. Didn't our talk earlier cover this? "Right. Yeah."

I smile, not looking either one in the eye. "Cool."

Aphrodite? I hate you.

**Author's Note: **

So. Halfway through writing this, I found out my mother ate two of my cookies, and there were only two left. And we're out of milk. So I was kinda distracted, making my goal, "WHEN I FINISH WRITING THIS CHAPTER, I CAN MAKE MORE COOKIES." So. Yeah. The chapter was gonna be longer (I'm kinda getting tired now of short chapters), but then…well. The cookie thing. So. Expect longer chapters? C': Thank you so much for the reviews!


	7. How Valdez Operates

**Chapter VII: **How Valdez Operates

**JPOV**

"No," Percy gasps in dead center, forgetting entirely that he was about to tidal wave me into the next Olympian War. He yields Riptide, shedding of his helmet just to continue his sarcastic comment. "Is that really—Jason, have you seen those two before?"

"The blond one and the Santa Elf?" I hum, taking the quick moment to flip my coin into a javelin and in less than a second, have him pinned to the ground with the end only a centimeter from his face. "Hm, I wouldn't know. Hey, you think your girlfriend and my best friend have seen the light of day in a while?"

He smirks, mirth sprinkling in his eyes and crosses his arms like suddenly he's the mature one. Perseus Logan Jackson for the three years that I've known him could never watch his mouth, and was childish about most things. Leo and he shared that quality to some extent—maybe Leo a little further. Percy raises his head, as if defying the fact I just beat him in our spar for the third time this week. "You took advantage of me."

"I wouldn't have taken advantage of you if you realized what was happening." Grinning, I pull him back to his feet in time as Annabeth and Leo appear in the empty seats of what was supposed be a replica of the _Colosseum_. There were differences (starting with the fact it didn't look like an ancient, dusty ruin), rooms reserved for sparring and battles that were generally between Roman Halfbloods. However with the first Capture the Flag of the winter starting next week—Rome versus Greece, Percy and I couldn't diminish the tempting thought of a match.

He also said he'd rather me than (_quote—"shiver")_ Thalia (_unquote)_, though I wasn't sure what that meant.

"Dude?" Percy grabs my shoulder with a chiding, brotherly grin and pulls me toward the flight of a billion-and-one stairs to meet with everyone. "You think too much."

I arch an eyebrow, unsure where he was going with this. "Excuse me?"

Suddenly we halt, halfway through the stairs and Leo and Annabeth noticewe've stopped. She turns her head to an expectant Leo, and they remerge themselves in a conversation while I look at the guy who sort of acts like my big brother.

Percy shrugs. "You have a ton on your mind, don't you?"

"I suppose." Though I honestly don't know where he's going with this.

"Maybe it's because you and I come from different sides of the…_camp_—" He says the last word with complete deadpan, realizing the expression doesn't really fit either one of us. Demigods have always had trouble adjusting, especially at a young age. Being raised by wolves, I can't exactly say I know the feeling—but it's probably hard trying to fit in when you have no idea what's going on—"There. You're doing it again, Jason."

"I'm doing what?" Partially I'm offended. What's wrong with thinking?

"Gods, if you're _thinking_ about why I'm saying it's so odd that you _think_ so much, then you've seriously got to shove an enchilada down your throat." Percy's maybe half an inch shorter than me, so it's funny watching him try to take charge of the situation. And don't ask about the enchilada thing—I think once he told me that his best friend was a satyr. Going by fathers, I'd actually have power over him, but…well, let's not go there. "Just…don't put so much pressure on yourself, okay?"

"What do you mean?" I can't help the question leaving my throat, eyebrows furrowing.

"Now you're getting a little serious…er. Maybe I'm not the best person to talk about this to. Or…you know. Something like that." He runs his hand through wavy black hair that always looks like he's just gotten out of the water. Honestly, I don't know how they do it—Thalia cuts her hair short for a girl, but it's long for a guy, Percy's hair is short, but it's untidy and you can smell sea salts, Nico di Angelo (well, the last time I've seen him) sports a shag. At least Annabeth ties her hair _back_, while Leo runs around with a floppy Mexican fro.

Gods that sounded racist. Terribly sorry.

"What's _holding_ you up for crying out loud?" Leo's voice echoes through the amphitheatre and both Percy and I cringe.

"Careful," I chide, eyes lifting to my best friend. A laugh tickles the back of my throat, but I bite it back while watching Leo dangle over one of the seats, two feet off the ground. "Your lungs are going to cause the place to collapse, Valdez."

"You and your fucking '_Saving Grace'_, Jase." He laughs and turns his attention to Annabeth, who rolls her eyes but the amusement is clearly there.

"You see?" Apparently getting his nonexistent point across, Percy lowers his head and narrows his eyes kind of proudly. Proud of _what_, exactly? "Right there, you didn't think about it—you just got your point across."

I blink. "Why would I need to think? He's just Leo."

"Between one Big-Three kid to another," he starts with clear exasperation dancing in his tone, "that's pretty cool. Though normally something as natural as that usually works with the girlfriend—"

"You want me to _not _think when it comes to my girlfriend?" Was Percy seriously trying to give me girl advice? Annabeth, I knew for a fact, was his only girlfriend _ever_, and—well, okay, _yeah._ After college they're getting married, but that's beside the point.

"Fine," he chirps in a tone that's reminiscent to the Stoll Brothers. "I got a dinner date with Annie, anyway. You doing anything with Piper?"

My cheeks turn red while he smirks. "Our Ten-Month is coming up soon."

I don't really want to get into detail about that. Instinctively I look back to Leo, remembering that I asked him to come so he could give me more advice on how to handle Piper during, um. Intercourse.

"Ready?" Annabeth calls as she realizes the both of us are looking in that general area.

"Sure, just let me get freshened…up…" Percy removes his helmet, but this time it's my turn to smirk. He ogles his girlfriend, who like mine very rarely likes to get dressed up.

"You look pretty," I comment. In contrast to her natural curls, Annabeth has these big loops that accent how blond she is. The gray in her sweater match the twinkling in her eyes, and a silver bracelet rests around her wrist with an owl trinket. She's carrying this modest bag, but I have no doubt that it's carrying her Yankee's cap and knife.

"Not all of us look like grease monkeys." She grins to her right, nudging Leo playfully, and he only sticks his tongue out. "You said something about freshening up, Seaweed Brain?"

"You bet, Wise Girl." Suddenly Percy regains all his strength, managing to snap his mouth shut before smiling like he's the luckiest guy in the world. Marrying the best friend of my sister (and treating me like one of her little brothers) kind of _did_ make him that lucky. He leans down, giving her the biggest, sloppiest kiss imaginable, and over them Leo's making silly faces to entertain himself.

They pull away, not in the least flustered or embarrassed as Annabeth's normally stern and stubborn face is replaced with pure love. She laughs short one giggle, giving both Leo and I motherly looks before tangling their hands together. "Promise me you won't cause the replica of Rome's supposedly-_greatest_ monument to collapse while I'm gone?"

"Supposedly?" I fake offense. She shrugs and Leo laughs.

He comes to my side, patting me roughly on the shoulder, and I realize he's wearing welder's gloves, still freshly bathed in the scent of grease and oil. "I'm not the one who can summon thunder from the sky."

"Lightning," Percy, Annabeth, and I correct.

"Same, diff." Leo waves his hand casually and the couple laughs before making their exit. Once they're gone, Leo makes another face, nose scrunched playfully and gaining a falsetto. "'You said something about freshening up, _Seaweed Brain_?' 'You bet, _Wise Girl.'" _

"Got a problem with their nicknames for one another?" I muse, tucking my coin tight in a pocket. "You call Piper, '_Beauty Queen_' all the time."

"That's different," he insists, arms crossed and impish smile spread across his lips. "When _I_ make up nicknames, corazoncito, _I _make them unique."

"And unmemorable. You still haven't told me what that means, by the way."

"What does what mean?"

"Cora…never mind." My cheeks turn pink, and I lack the edge I originally had. I can't exactly spew out a perfect Spanish accent the way Leo can. The last time I even _tried_, he burst into laughter (which, thankfully, alleviated the tension we originally had.) "What does it mean?"

And as expected, Leo cracks a giggle or two, clutching his chest and belittling me as he pets me on the shoulder. "You're the one who knows Latin. Figure it out for yourself."

"Maybe another time," I say gently. He hums and pulls out something that looks suspiciously like a Nintendo DSi—or it would be one, if he wasn't scanning his fingerprint with it. Huh, I wonder where you get one of those. Deviating from the subject, I put my hands on my hips. "You know, 'Beauty Queen' isn't exactly that unique."

"It's either Pipes or Beauty Queen. The former of which," he says halfheartedly, "that everyone else stole from me."

"How so?"

"She actually doesn't like it when people call her that but her dad. Though I do believe the reason why she lets me is because I annoyed her into it. On the other hand," he swallows, and even looks a little…envious. I take note of this immediately. "You're the exception."

I know it's not really any of my business, and I absolutely hate it, but…the way he looks at Piper and me whenever we're together is kind of unnerving. She and I aren't the lovey-dovey type (it took me six months, for crying out loud, to tell her that I was in love with her), but he's told us once—_It's just the way you look at her. So full of love, and it's kind of annoying how you guys steal glances at one another._ A child of Zeus's fatal flaw is envy. Or maybe, it's just _my_ fatal flaw to get worked up over the stupidest things (yeah, I know they're stupid), but when it comes to Piper and Leo, sometimes I can't help myself.

"She calls you Sparky," he says, breaking our silence. Oh, wow. Maybe Percy's right—I do think a lot.

"Less likely to mispronounce that than 'corazoncito,'" I mutter, trying to push the unwanted paranoia from my mind. I trust Leo. He would never go behind my back and hurt me.

"Hmph. All the nicknames you have for people—even your_ Rey of Sunshine_—I've supplied for you." Leo arched an eyebrow teasingly and elbowed me in the arm. "What's wrong, Grace? Afraid you'll sprain your nonexistent funny bone?"

"I could so find a nickname for you. You're…" Maybe I should have thought this one through. "You're uh, Curlytop."

Silence.

"_Wow_, Grace. Real unique." He laughs, and begins a descent down the stairs with me hot on his trail. His fingers play with the little ringlets in his hair, and they flop against his neck. "I should probably get it cut soon. I don't look badass enough to tie it back while I work."

"I think you'd look cute," I offer. Couldn't you imagine one of Santa's elves decked out in a pair of welder's gloves, a tinsel outfit-plus- hat, _and_ hair tied back like—like a grease monkey, I suppose. He freezes up for a moment, then rolls his eyes. "I know you don't like being called _cute_, but er, you would."

"No. Me being called cute is pretty much all you wrap your mind around." Leo flashes a wry look, eyes narrowed and brows raised in the air. "You're just you, corazoncito."

I smile. A different thought enters my mind, and alarmed, I leap in front of him in possibly the most ridiculous defense maneuver I've ever had. "When I call you _cute_, I don't mean, you know—like—like a _girl._ Because you know—I'm not…and you're…" I _wasn't_ trying to flirt with him or anything. "Yeah…"

There's a new look on his face—if only for a second—that I've never seen before. His eyes darken, lips pulling into a tight thin line, and I can seriously feel my heart stop, watching in that one second how far I've crossed the line with my best friend. Suddenly the _Colosseum _seems far too small, and I'm suffocating despite the fact that _I_ could be controlling oxygen levels.

He acquiesces, falling into the center of the arena, and strips of gloves and his jacket, until all that's on him is his tool belt, oil-stained jeans, and a soot-covered t-shirt. "I've always admired my siblings for building a replica of the _Colosseum_. 'Wondered how overboard you could get before this thing collapses. Bet you and Percy weren't even using _a fourth_ of your strength."

I needed to apologize. "Leo—"

"Fight me." A grin flashes across his face, and he stuffs his hands into either pocket of his tool belt.

Disbelief washes into me, and I flash a look of concern on the way he just casually pulls out a giant hammer like he's been doing it for ages. "Leo, you got out of house arrest _two days ago_. Don't you want to wait a little bit on that?"

"Dude. My own invention exploded in my face. For me, that's quite possibly the _biggest_ ego bruiser I could ever have." It takes a moment for his point to come across: I didn't offend him. Even if I crossed the line, he wasn't going to hold it against me. "One butt-whooping against you, and I'll be back to the stud everyone thinks I am."

"You really want me to whoop your butt?" I muse.

"Kinky," Leo laughs. "Very kinky."

Before I have the chance to make a comeback, a ball of fire whips my way. I duck, automatically pushing the helmet back on and flipping my coin. Heads—it's a sword. I bob to the side, but not quick enough to avoid a blow to my chest.

"Isn't the fire a little much?" I call, only feet from the wall.

"Working with my assets!" He puffs his chest out, proud and high with a visible smirk. We wait, intimidating the other like in an old western movie, and I recall every little thing I knew about Leo's battling prowess. It takes him less than thirty seconds to make a universal remote, and the last battle he was in with was an _empousa_ when we were trying to destroy a bomb back in Minnesota. Piper charmspoke the bomb to buy time while Leo tried to defuse it while piloting a blimp.

Right. I'm the Warrior, Piper is the Priest, and Leo's the Mage. Mages don't use their fists, they use their intellect, and Piper is the glue that keeps us going.

Crap. In a one-on-one battle, I don't think I know him well enough to conduct a battle plan.

Wait, that's it. _Conduct._

Ducking another blow of fire, I tumble into the ground, making use of the battle field while blocking with a rented trainer's shield. Tossing the sword back into the air, I pray for it to land on tails, and realize he's taken the time to pull out an array of plastic, nuts, and bolts I have no clue what the exact names

This time his eyes lock onto mine, and he flings—_harshly_—a flaming hammer my way. It hits my armor, taking me completely off guard, and the pulses it sends is _excruciating._

Note: Flames? Painful. Hammers? Horrible. _Flaming hammers?_ Unbearable.

Seeing as his strategy's working, Leo flashes this nervously victorious grin as he continues tinkering—_did I mention he's fantastic at tinkering?_ I dive into him, javelin in hand, but it occurs that although I don't know his fighting style, he knows _mine._ Leo dodges with clumsy grace, one hand tight over his new invention and the other now wielding a screwdriver.

He shoves it into my helm, nearly gauging my eyes out and in instinct I drive Ivlivs toward his chest and deliver the lowest voltage possible, chiding, "I'm trying to spar with you, not electrocute you into the next Olympian War."

"Hmm. Noted." Leo isn't the son of Vulcan/Hephaestus, _God of Blacksmiths and Forgery_ for nothing. Despite being made by imperial gold, he knows its work well and quickly grabs hold of it with his bare hand.

Before blazing _white_ hot fire ignites from his hand the moment I start zapping him. The heat scorches my hand, and I drop it in an instant, rubbing raw skin into the denim of my pants. Despite being taller, bigger, and more experienced, Leo tackles me to the ground, holding a javelin that must be at least 10,000Kelvin in one hand with no problem and a—

"You made a _TASER_?"

"Yup." He grins evilly, sitting comfortably on my stomach with the point of a _really sharp_, electrifying javelin at my chest and sparkling TASER now at my neck. "And you just gave me the juice for it, bro."

"Truce?"

"Buy me tacos and tamales?"

"Deal. They can give you heartburn, though."

"Pi_shaw._" He wiggles around on my chest, and starts listing off the benefits of Mexican food. I don't listen.

Remember, mysterious half-blood person (at least that's what Percy recommended I should call you), how I said two mortal boys don't get as close as we do? That as half-bloods, we automatically react before we think?

In the past four years we've known each other, Leo and I have had to hide in toy aisles at Walmart, duck under daycare toddler tables, fall asleep next to one another in a 5x5 room (and for a guy who's 5'7", a girl that's 5'4", and me, who's 5'11'', it's not very comfy) at an amusement park—anything you can imagine. We've had to get this close due to my tackling him to dodge clubs in the head and fists to the jaw in steep area.

I've always known his stats. Curly soot-black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes.

Sitting where I am, in this odd position with my best friend on top debating on the credibility of Taco Bueno, I can see his eyes with greater detail. Solid brown and strong like one of his inventions, and flawless caramel brown skin without one blemish in sight. His nose is a little small, and you can't even tell whether or not he's got ears because his hair now reaches half-way down his neck. Leo's the runt of the litter when it comes to the rest of his siblings—more of a Minerva intellect followed by Mercury's mischief. He's still got that baby face of his, and is incredibly slim to me, who's pretty stocky.

And the last thing. It's always been a fact in the air, but I've never actually thought about it. There's this lingering scent of ash, which is odd since he can't burn himself, mixed with oil and sweat, but under that is a thick, kind of _tingly_ scent of ambrosia and lemongrass tea.

Wait, I'm checking Leo out. Blinking, I come to my realization that yes, I'm checking my best friend out from cowlick to shoelace, and he's stopped talking a long time ago. Maybe it's because we're halfbloods and open about it (Phoebus/Apollo's love for Hyacinth, Dad being…Dad, Aphrodite/Venus raising estrogen-filled boys who had one hell of a bitch slap), or maybe Leo's right. Girls look at each other all the time, right? You just look for the assets you'd find in a girl.

Suddenly reality snaps back and I realize what I'm thinking. Uh, _wow._ Blinking out of my daze, the lemongrass fills my nose and before I get caught up in my mind, I pick up Ivlivs as he holds it out to me and look him in the eye. "I let you win."

"Then I'm letting you think you let me win." Leo looks at me again, and—those eyes. They're nothing like Piper's, they don't change color, and they're firm. Secure.

Even though I'm the one that's been saying the wrong things lately, it's Leo who scurries off like he's just been caught red handed. I blink, realizing that the incredible warmth Leo possesses has just disappeared, and then—oh. _Oh._ My entire face beams with a new heat while Leo won't look me in the eye. That was…he was straddling my…his hands were on…uh. Torso.

Instead, he grabs his jacket and welder's gloves and coughs a little. "We, um. Yeah."

"Right." That was…sadly enough, I think that's further I've gotten with Leo than either of my two girlfriends combined. I shed of all the armor and helm, immediately feeling about fifty pounds lighter, and drop it in front of the gym. Leo says nothing.

I break the silence. "We should go get your Mexican food."

Pardon me for anymore references between my best friend and the holiday of Christmas, but let me just tell you that he lights up like an entire tree. "And smoothies?"

A smile works its way across my lips and relief flutters through my chest. At least he's not mad. "And smoothies. But that, I'm _not_ buying for you."

**LPOV**

It's odd.

I've known Jason for four years, and even before I realized how hard I was crushing on the guy, I've known that he's got the tendency to flirt with people without realizing what he's doing. Maybe that's just a power of the god who's got the sex drive of a…er, _god_, but not only is the guy easy on the eyes, but charming with compliments. Alright, me being called cute? Of _course_ I'm cute! I'm Leo Valdez, lady's man extraordinaire and the only kid known who can summon fire!

But like I said. Jason may carry the authority of a lieutenant on the battlefield and the strength to back it up, but he's kind of clueless when it comes to smooth talking girls on _purpose._ After the first week of figuring out I'm in love with the guy, I still cherish his compliments, but I don't take 'em to heart. I don't go weak in the knees like a girl if Jason dishes out a sweet compliment. The way he stared at me before getting out of that, er, _position_ though, was kind of…

"You okay, man?" Jason catches me, hand over my shoulder as he realizes I've almost tripped over absolutely nothing. "We can go back to the dorm or something."

"Nah." I fake a calm grin. "My legs are just a little wobbly. Come on, this week is Hestia's."

Oh, shut up.

**JPOV **

Piper's there to meet us once we enter Hestia's. Unlike a week-and-a-half ago when Vesta's was decked out for Percy's big proposal, Hestia has walls that look like the inside of a cave, and the light source is candles lit with mythical fire. A large hearth covers an entire wall with polished carvings of the stories of Hestia. Furniture is made out of marble, and a set of three stairs etch the floor for either center seating or near the window. In that center is also the couch, and one of the three bakeries is in the middle. You can grab as much food as you want—but a charm forces you to cough up the drachma and aureus and keeps count of how much you've spent.

Dine'nDash is not an option here, unfortunately.

We sit on a couch, Piper's waist comfily between my arms, and watch as Leo shoves the thirtieth tamale down his throat. She and I share the same look of disgust—where does he _pack_ it all? While he locks himself up in a conversation with Travis, Piper's hand finds mine.

"What are you thinking?" she asks softly, pink sprinkling in her cheeks.

"You," I say, kissing her sweetly on the cheek. Once it happens, we're both red with fluster, and I look back to Leo, finding us the object of his attention once again. That look comes on his face again—the one where he scrunches his nose and biting something back.

Then it hits me. The way Leo looks at us…isn't it _obvious?_ Duh.

"Dude," Travis says, jumping into the air like an overexcited puppy. He pats on Leo's shoulder, standing on the couch cushion, and rips the poor guy away from his nachos. "You see what I see?"

Apparently he does. Leo swallows down the last of his nachos like a chipmunk, and a grin spreads across his face. "Ares kid _totally_ trying to put the moves on a super hot Apollo babe?"

"I saw them first."

"Fine. Maneuver #64 with guidelines from Paragraph 1.2."

"_1.2_? Can't we go with 3?"

"Only if you want me to steal your date!" Going unnoticed by the apparent pair up front, Leo smoothes his curls and leaps from the couch, yanking Travis by the hand.

The latter voice echoes. "Not fair, so not fair!"

Piper and I crack up laughing, and she buries her face into the crook of my neck, bringing her legs close to her chest. We start sharing little comments on either one, but my mind's still whirring from the fact that there was a reason Leo was always caught up in our business. We're always rubbing it in his face that we're together, he always looks uncomfortable when Pipes or I talk about the other—it's just _there._

"What are you thinking about now?" Piper nudges me playfully and smiles.

"I'm thinking," I say, suddenly grateful that my girlfriend is the best charmspeaker at OU, "that we should set Leo up with someone. You know, as a date."

After all, Leo's only envious because he's a tad lonely.

**Author's Note: **

So. Two points to someone who knows what corazoncito means. ;D And another two points: Listen to the song Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears BUT LISTEN TO THE COVER DONE BY SAM TSUI. SOUNDS LESS KINKY. And another on Jason's character: the more I read of him (which is hard because I actually don't have my own copy of the book), the more I want to emphasize this: it's not that Jason's shy, but being in a more "war-like" camp, on top of being a lieutenant-figure, he's not good at expressing his emotions. Honestly, I'm sure he's a lot smarter than Percy too (though I love Percy for being a dork), so yeah. Jason's going to be thinking a lot, and he's totally more rational than say…the Stoll Brothers.


	8. When Jason UnGracefully Does the Stupid

**Chapter VIII: **When Jason Un-Gracefully Does the Stupid

**LPOV **

"What?"

A word of advice? Never let an Aphrodite kid cut your hair. Sure, in any form, I look _incredibly hot_, but now my ears are cold. I stare into the marbled table of Vesta's, hand brushing into what's left from the annihilation of my curls, and shrug. Come to think of it, this is probably the first I've cut my hair since senior year.

"Yeah, they cut it a little short," I admit, then plop onto the loveseat next to Travis and—and they're still all staring at me.

"Leo…" Piper stares at me, hands to her cheeks like one of those movies, and Jason's eyes are so big that he looks like an owl. Athena would be proud. "I can—I can see your ears!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have cold ears for the winter." Shrugging, I snatch the Leotendo from Travis and check what level's he's on before continuing gameplay. "We should go to the beach sometime his weekend. Catch the last rays before Halloween."

Still no talking.

"Has he…_always _had ears?"

"Well…as long as I've known him..., but you've known him longer."

"Does it really look that bad?" I frown and defensively put my hands to my hair.

"No!" Katie gasps next to Travis and shakes her head. "It looks good, Leo! You look…look hot."

"_Hell-o_, boyfriend present?" Though joking, Travis wraps an arm around her waist before wiggling his eyebrows. "But yeah. You look hot, bro. I'd ram you."

"Good to know," I smirk wryly. It wasn't a lie when I told Jason that Travis and I had a relationship. It lasted about a month with those goofy dates and sex, _ooh_ there was a lot of sex. But we were bros before bedbuddies, and he was totally in love with Katie Gardner at the time. Why Jason didn't notice is what I dub the "honeymoon" stage of their relationship.

"_Ooh_," Conner mock-winces and pats me on the shoulder before snatching the Leotendo. "What's worse? You getting Trav jealous 'cause Katie thinks you look hot, or 'cause Travis admittedly just said he wants to ram you—score! Kirby just swallowed Percy!"

"I still can't believe you turned Camp Halfblood into Super Smash Bros." Reyna huffs and pulls down her goggles. Let's get one thing straight: imagine Megan Fox with a wrench in one hand and a gap between her two front teeth like Demi Lovato. Okay, now imagine her looking like that only this time hot, and you've got my half-sister. Girl doesn't take crap, and I would totally date her if it wasn't so creepy.

"I simply combined two of my best interests and made something worthwhile. Elementary, my dear sister." Instigating my point I push my mock-glasses up. "So. Beach? Anyone?"

Apparently different to everyone else, my topic doesn't matter. The mood shifts and Pipes smiles slightly. "How about a date?"

"You and me, Beauty Queen?" Grinning, I shrug and gesture to an unsettled Jason. Dude is still trying to get over the new haircut. Give or take a few weeks they'll be covering my ears again anyway. "Once your boytoy stops ogling me I'm sure he'll refuse the idea."

As though the idea wasn't a joke, Piper nudges him in the arm with a roll of her eyes. Jason's one weakness has always been clear (though honestly you can see it in Percy, too): his emotions. By forcing himself into the militaristic state as the lieutenant for the Romans, he has almost perfected hiding them. By almost-perfection, he avoids the possibility of losing his humanity, but now that we're in college, emotion is a must.

I know Jason Grace like all the parts to a Mercedes Benz. He gets jealous easily, and once he gets jealous (knowingly, mind you) he shoves his emotions in a chest and locks them up like Hope.

Piper is quite possibly the only time I've seen his ferocity—seen him struggle to keep those very emotions in check. Why? Because it's _me _who could end up taking her. It's kind of annoying in the sense they make me want to retch unicorns and butterfly-rainbows.

Jason snaps out of whatever funk he's in (another thing? Being raised by wolves pretty much makes him think more than speak) and reluctantly he nods. "We're just a bit worried about you. Pipes and I think we could set you up with someone."

Free date? Uh. "You really want me to go out with someone?"

"Of course we—"

"No, no," I cut Katie off, hand raised slightly to reiterate my point. "The love birds, Nick and Norah. _You two_ want me to go out and date someone, considering…_circumstances_?"

Like a cartoon, Piper and Jason have to think about the question for a moment before immediately burning in their own seas of red. Reyrey, Trav, Con, and Rosy Kates share looks of confusion and I silently assure they needn't think about it. Damn, _I_ don't even want to think about it. Ooh, Kirby just ate Jason.

For a moment it's actually pretty funny. Piper and Jason exchange these looks, and you can tell it's just clicked in their heads what's happened, and that somehow _I'm_ involved. That being said, I wait patiently, feigning as much innocence as possible while Kirby pulls a lightning bolt from his ass (heheh, don't you just _love_ being a Hephaestus kid?) before handing it off to Travis and pushing off the seat.

"I want some tacos. Anyone wanna come with?" Jason gets up without another thought. A smile spreads across my face as we get into the back of the line, and I pull out some nuts and bolts to entertain myself. Don't get me wrong—sometimes I like to build, but _aw yeah, _the rigid feel makes me swoon any day.

Jason's still staring at me.

"No, Grace, I'm not going to answer whether or not I talked to your girlfriend. Or. You know, if she talked to me. _That being the case_," I jab a screwdriver to his chest, a blatant reminder that I _so _dominated him just two days ago. "You're my best friend and she's like my sister. That's just a no-go, bro."

Oddly enough that's not what he's doing. The line moves, but Jason's electric blue eyes spark with an intensity you only see on the battlefield. That's when I realize, it's not that he's angry—he's _studying me._ It takes me back to our spar match those few nights ago. Even if I did win, it was obvious Jason was taken completely off guard. We've never had an actual match against each other (except for a few times where he's given me pointers at camp—which _hurt_, by the way), but I've been on enough missions long enough to know his habits. I'm tech support, he's lead role.

But, _crap._ I'd forgotten about that night. Pipes and I have a good history as a two-man team, but Annabeth and Percy were our mentors. Jason—Jason is an entirely different feel from Pipes. His techniques are forward, blunt, and _striking_ like lightning, which results with us in awkward positions. However as of late and realizing my feelings for the moron, I'd been sitting on him—no, it looked like I was fucking _riding_ him, and the thought hadn't occurred to me until um, I felt Leo Jr. doing the wave in my pants.

Jason was studying me then, too.

"It does look nice," he whispers softly. I can't look him in the eye.

My face turns entirely red, and out of habit I reach to push a curl out of my eye, but they're not long anymore. They're still there—Leo's not Leo unless he's got the Valdez 'do—but not as visible. Damn, did I mention my ears were cold?

"Won't be able to tell when you're nervous or freaking out anymore, huh?" Jason offers one of his best smiles—the one that highlights the stapler-scar on his lip. I turn red again.

"So what is this ridiculous notion Pipes has you convinced of?" We move forward in the line and I brusquely avoid him inching closer. But when it comes to us halfbloods, personal space is a luxury no one cares for. It's the last thing on your mind when you're on the battlefield, and with the trust built between comrades, outside camaraderie overpowers simple friendship. How many people can say their best friend would go as far as driving a javelin into a hottie Ice Babe Goddess to save your life? "Why does she think I need to hook up with anyone?"

"Actually…it was my idea."

"Oh." For some reason that hits home harsher than it would have if it was Piper. Beauty Queen being a girl, I can understand. But with Jason my stomach immediately flips, and I shove my hands into pockets filled with bolts and metal to keep from doing anything stupid. Heat bubbles against my skin, ready to burst into flames, but I've got to push that down, too.

"It's just…" Jason jumps in, nudging me lightly in the arm with a small, worried frown. "You've been off your rocker lately, Leo. We're just worried about you."

"I can totally see that." Hey, I _tried_ putting sarcasm in there. The depression's just a bit too strong for me to sober up.

"So, then…are you okay with it?" Jason puts a hand on my shoulder in worry and I can't help but shrug it off.

"Sure." Grace has done some stupid things before, but he's got no idea how below the belt he's hit.

**Author's Note: **

Obviously this chapter is ten times shorter than the one before, but it basically covered everything I wanted to cover. A secretly-irritated Leo, continuously-clueless Jason, and everyone else being…there. xD So. Yeah. Apologies; I had to choke this one out. I kind of like it though. One of my pet peeves is actually when a character is given a haircut, but uh, we'll just see. I can be odd that way.


	9. When Leo Cracks

_Jeo Lover: JEO? IS THAT THE OFFICAL NAME NOW? ;D _

_Gethe: Hehe. Thank you very much! c': _

**Chapter VIIII: **When Leo Cracks

**LPOV **

The first girl they choose is really pretty. She's got ivory pale skin and wavy blond hair. Problem? She's from the geeky side of the Athena Cabin and would rather talk about a computer processor than make out. Don't get me wrong; plugging my "hard drive" into her "monitor" is as hot as you can get, but there's a fine line between foreplay and geekitude, and I'm both mad and gay for my best friend.

So, through those studious glasses into gray eyes I'm _dying _of boredom and not even jumping for joy as she babbles on and on about an i7 Central Processing Unit. She's also the daughter of _fairness_, so damn the process of _equal partnership_ that keeps her from pulling pranks.

Leo Valdez doesn't blow off a date, he's totally a gentleman, and I would totally go all Narcissus and date him myself if I was self-centered. So with the Athena girl (by the time this wretched date was over, I just forgot who she was), I smile and try oh-so desperately to fall into the friend zone. It works. Being intellectual, she notices immediately that I'm off my rocker and kindly calls me a "generic Paleolithic imbecile Neanderthal" who "clearly wouldn't know the difference between a Macintosh and Windows 7 if a Trojan virus managed to throttle my hard drive." And uh, after the foreplay flirting, my Central Penis Unit would rather not get its hard drive throttled.

Then, don't forget. The in-law is the mother of fair _war_play, so I find a knife to my throat by the end of the night rather than a kiss goodbye.

Travis and Conner introduce me to their half-sister the day after that: Kaci Steeler. She owes me thirty bucks—and for the record, if a girl wears tennis shoes to a fancy restaurant, she's definitely prepping for a dine-and-dash.

Then there's Katie's sister, Gretta Bloomsdale. We spend the entire date talking about how hot girls were. Lemme give you a hint—I only said one word that entire evening: "_Hi._"

I sigh, rolling my eyes as Gretta goes off skipping with some other chica. They share a perky kiss, all giggles and relief after Gretta humbly thanks me for being her cover so she could go out with her girlfriend. Apparently they've been best friends since high school, and just recently got together even though she could have sworn her girlfriend was straight.

Give a guess. Who does that make me think of?

**JPOV**

"Bad date?" I smile softly, turning down the TV as Leo dramatically makes an entrance, nearly burning the door knob off in the process, and jumps into his bed. The sound of his mattress springs reverberates, and in pity, I decide to get up and close the door for him. He grunts—something that always means, _'Corazoncito, I love you dearly, but no. Just no. If I want to sleep, then I'm going to sleep and yeah, I __**totally**__ have a problem, but because I'm so mad I'm not telling you._'

No, really. That's what those grunts mean.

Instead of urging him to reiterate, my eyes follow the tan flesh of his neck and the creamy caramel. His skin is entirely _flawless_, and that high up above his torso—I've never seen it. For the date with Gretta Bloomsdale, he wore an aviator's jacket, high-tops, and anything else in his closet. The top of his head is dressed in light curls but…his ears. So far no one's let him live down the fact you could see two arcs jutting out.

Funny, I think. Even without his significant feature—_bright curly hair—_Leo manages to find something else to trademark.

You can see his forehead—his _blemish-free _forehead withouthaving to search for it. His jaw is structured—more visible than when we were just two dorky teenagers finding our place in the world. You can see the bridge of his nose, and…you can see the glitter in his eyes.

You can see the solid, firm brown that catch the fluid of deep chocolate, and you can see the way the sun twinkles in his irises. You…you notice the way his eyes flare, and the way they beat with life, just like a torch. They're the light—they're what guides everything else toward them like a beacon—like a small little flame that never goes out. And…they get bigger. Whenever he smiles, you see rays of sunshine gleaming in his eyes—but he doesn't need sunshine. He's better than the Sun God himself—he's warmth, he's courage, and he's…solid. _Concrete. _

I'm not the only person, right, mysterious halfblood person? You, Piper, Percy, and everyone else see it too?

"What are you doing?"

I did it again. Snapping out of my thoughts, I look to my best friend and notice that Leo's shifted from burying his head into the pillow, instead looking with his eyes at my form. They're dreary. They're milky, _liquid-y, and sort of like…like…_

"Your eyes look like pudding." Crap. "Chocolate pudding. After it's been left out in the junkyard for a couple days."

More crap.

Leo's eyes never leave mine—those same gooey _pudding eyes_, and I can't tell if he's ready to blow a gasket or laugh in my face.

Surprisingly he does neither.

"You're thinking about something again, aren't you?" There isn't any joy in his tone. Leo is seriously tired, not a spare funny bone found. He slides off the bed, hand instinctively following to rub one of his curls—and curses, remembering that he can't. Then, he tentatively comes over and crawls onto my bed.

"I was thinking about you," I confess. Apparently it doesn't lighten the mood. Leo arches an eyebrow, lips curled into a tight frown as he proceeds with taking off his aviator's jacket, among other things. Our attention separates from one another, and instead Leo moves to put on his safety goggles, along with the semester project he and Annabeth have been working on for ages. "Ever since you got your haircut, I can't stop thinking about you."

For a moment, Leo's hand pauses. He's in the process of unbuckling his belt when I explain _why_ I had zoned out, but he moved again, eyes settling on my form. Bright pink sprinkles the edges of his cheeks—another part of Leo's face I've rarely ever seen.

On occasion, Leo would get his hair trimmed if his curls kept poking his eyes out—and he _hated_ tying his hair back, so clearly it wasn't a choice. He's already said that the Venus kid that cut his hair accidentally took more off than planned, but it looks…_really_ good.

Leo's always been my best friend and the little brother I looked out for on quests. Sometimes he was pesky, but without his jokes, I doubt I would have ever gotten out of my _"angst pool_", Harry Potter-esque life. Er, that's what he calls it.

Then getting back to the point at hand, I look to him, eyes narrowing at the stun decorating cheek-to-nose-to-cheek and feel a frown contort against my lips. In the three days since his haircut, Leo's had to go on a handful of dates—the third with Katie's sister, apparently not ending any better than the others. Leo has been acting odd recently—since Percy's proposal to Annabeth, and the way I catch him staring at either Annabeth or me can be a little unnerving.

And depressing. Lately though, he can't seem to stay on his feet and to be rejected by three girls—no, to reject _three girls_ that we all thought he'd like is preposterous.

"Leo," I say slowly, the next thought coming into my head. Piper and Leo. They both see it—they both know how worried and paranoid I get when I try _so hard_ not to, and I want to believe them. But how can two people be best friend for the longest time and deny that there's chemistry? "Are you…jealous? Of me and Piper?"

No good. Leo stiffens, and it takes him two anxious seconds to answer my question. "D…Dude, seriously?"

A little bit of anger teems in his voice. Immediately I shake my head, hand clutching onto his bare shoulder. "No! Not like that—_not like that_!"

Why am I freaking out? The very thought of angering Leo isn't something I want to think of. To see Leo without a smile on his face—or worse, _scared_ like when I caught him and Will Solace making out—devastates me. I can't handle a not-happy Leo. "Then _how_?"

He's edgy. Leo's body movement has picked up, and the red flush glowing in his cheeks burns, singeing his skin. A husky scent of soot clouds my nostrils. "…maybe I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Maybe you shouldn't have."

"Why are you biting my head off?" I try to keep my tone low and concerned, but it failed me. The concern seeps through, followed by subtle annoyance and a bit of paranoia. There has never been a moment where Leo has been angry at me for more than thirty minutes, and it was generally something petty. Other times I manage to over think the situation. He laughs, I blush—and it's all over from there. But this medley of his despair drives me _crazy._

"Nothing," he breathes, and the boiling temperature drops a degree or two. I realize I'm coated in sweat from his almost-temper tantrum, and instinctively wipe it from my forehead. Silence fills the room, and—_what was that_?

"We should talk in the morning," I say gently.

"We should," Leo agrees. Guilt flutters across his features, and he immediately shakes it off in notion to redo his belt. He rewinds it around his hips, and grabs his shirt, aviator's jacket, and tool belt.

I stand up quickly and block his only exit, eyes widening in surprise. "Where are you going?"

"It's…uh. It's Friday night and—and you should be hanging out with Pipes. Touch her boobs or something, I'm—I'm…" His voice descends to a quiet tone, brown eyes unable to meet my gaze. Leo is a good four inches shorter than me and—I get lost. I stare at him, observing how tiny he is compared to me, or the Stoll Brothers—_or again, his siblings._ Slender muscles, but not from sword fighting, and long legs, but way too nice-looking to be muscle. "I'm going to spend the night over at the Stolls' apartment."

"You always know I'm here to vent to, right—?"

"_Yes_," he replies crisply, still not looking me in the eye. Instead irritation flutters across his features, and he presses a hand to the back of his neck, the space between his eyebrows falling into multiple creases. "But…this kind of problem, I…I can't vent to you to, cora…Jason. I need Travis."

Oh.

"Bye."

Leo exits through the door without another word, not one little jibe having left his lips. To go vent to _Travis. _

Sitting down onto the bed, I pull out an aureus, ready to Iris-message Piper and do what Leo advised, but…I can't.

He's only been gone a minute and I'm already sure I'm missing something.

**Author's Note: **

Oof. I'm really getting caught between updates, so you're just gonna have to hope for a long, _**Jeo**_ story sometime in the future when I habve time. Sorry for the shortness, and I really wanna apologize for not replying to reviews last time; I was so tired when updating that I just…forgot. Anyway, thank you so much and can't wait to hear your thoughts! Not much progress in this chapter, but it gets explained in the next one. c':


	10. How Jason Breaks it Down

_Gethe – Exactly. That's the point that I wanna get across—Jason keeps ogling Leo, but he can't fathom the reason _why_ he keeps doing it. xD Glad you took notice. C': Leo could be more aggressive, but in all honesty? He isn't pursuing Jason. xD It'll be explained later. _

_Thankful Person—there are actually more than me? I WANT LINK. Hehe. And I actually like Piper as a character; but yes. She is that of which keeps Leo and Jason from their destined bromance. _

**Chapter X: **How Jason Breaks It Down

**JPOV**

"So, yeah. That's what happened." I plop onto Percy's couch, despite the fact both Annabeth and Percy are giving me glares, ready to send me to hell. I-I hadn't _meant_ to visit them, but I couldn't call Piper. Leo never gets legitimately upset, but when he's close to blowing a gasket as he did, he…he goes to me or Piper. I had done something wrong—done something to make him_ crack_, and Piper is the only choice.

But if I tell Piper about the problem, then she'll end up mad at me or confused. I've thought about a lot of reasons why Leo could be angry—the fact we insisted he needed a date (that was a low blow to his pride, most likely), the dates we chose out (in our defense, they seemed to have a lot in common), and…the fact that it sounded like I was accusing him of wanting Piper again. It had been a careful observation, and there seemed to be no other reason, but I was sure I had it pegged.

Coming to Percy's room and apparently interrupting a heated make out session with his fiancé wouldn't get them on my good side. Annabeth lifts from the bed, tying her hair in a manner she always does when she starts to think, and Percy sits behind her with a pout clear across his face.

"So," she starts, "Leo came home from a crappy date and you said something hurtful, which drove Leo out for the night?"

"And apparently drove Thalia's kid brother into our makeout session." Percy rolls his eyes before giving me a pointed look. "Dude, seriously? You know how hard it is to pull Wise Girl away from that damn semester project—"

"Percy. Shut up." I'd crack a laugh from Annabeth's sternness to her boyfriend, but she simply looks at me, smoothing out any possible wrinkle in her t-shirt. Honestly she could be covered head-to-toe in mud and I still think Annabeth was one of the prettiest girls I know. Her hair arches in precise curls, and every time she has a plan, her gray eyes flicker with a brighter light. Annabeth holds her head high and sighs. "I'm surprised you're just _now_ noticing it."

Immediately Percy's pout disappears. He slides off the bed, running a hand through his hair and stands next to his girlfriend, height difference not acknowledged. Annabeth only goes up to his shoulder. "She has a point, you know."

"Does she?" I look to him, eyebrows furrowed. Percy holds the title as one of the most inattentive halfbloods known to mankind. We both share the title of leader because there are only a handful of Big Three kids fluttering around. Any that Neptune, Pluto, or Jupiter have had since the war years ago probably aren't even up to my knee. For Percy and Annabeth though, to notice something that I haven't yet—when Leo's supposed to be my _best friend_, makes me a horrible friend. I didn't know he was bi. I didn't know that he was in a relationship with Travis. _I didn't know he was this angry_.

"What, we seriously gonna play the role of Mom and Dad for you, dude?" Percy arches a playful brow, hands shoved in his pockets before he nudges Annabeth gently in the arm. "Mom and I have been looking out for your wellbeing, _son_, and oh, that nice boy who you live with now—you know, the one who likes to invent things wearing nothing but his birthday suit—is _upset_ because you're playing with that Piper girl from across the street."

"I—I got that." Maybe it wasn't something I could understand. It was another thing between Percy and I—an enviable difference I always wished I had. Percy may have been considered the leader to the Greeks, but the Senate of the Romans was worse. Maybe it was just a trait through most of the boys that were Greek Halfbloods—being lighthearted. I grew up in the shadow of Jupiter, the Leader of the Gods. Cracking jokes, making friends—it came second to the line of duty. Plus, Percy's remark wasn't all that funny.

"No. You didn't." Annabeth plops down next to me, not once having blinked in our discussion. Instead, she gestures to Percy and rolls her eyes. "Do you remember when I started dating Percy?"

"Yeah." I had lived with their family in California during the months where I had to go to school. Percy and Annabeth started dating when I was fourteen and they were sixteen, but I'd never been jealous. Percy and Annabeth suited each other well. "That's different, though."

"How's it different, son?" Percy occupies the other side of his couch and casually pets me on the head, sarcasm dripping in his tone. Apparently the heated make out session was more important than I'm perceiving it. "Hate to break it to you, but you _did_ act like the third wheel before you met Reyna. I was like, your half-mentor and Annie was practically your sister. That's how Leo sees Piper."

"But why would he get defensive then, when I asked him a simple question?" It didn't make sense. Leo has always been straightforward with his answers, and never did a single word cling to his conscience. There were times, on _quests_, even, where his big mouth practically got us killed, but he always knew what the right thing to say. Leo is tactless. I've had the emotion beat out of me so many times that…I can't be.

"Can you honestly tell me you've been hanging out with Leo lately, Jace?" Annabeth reaches for what appears to be a blueprint, and her eyes darken. I can't understand it either—it's written in English. Leo can actually _read_ English.

"No," I confess. I gesture to Percy. "The first Capture the Flag game between Romans and Greeks is coming up soon. Percy and I have been sparring and training for it."

"Obviously this is the only competition we'll have since there are only two other schools out there." Percy leans over as if to give his girlfriend a better explanation. He shakes his head, looking at the schematics and grumbles something about dyslexia. "Damn, I don't get how he can understand this."

"Actually I think it goes along with the fact he's one of the most powerful Hephaestus kids of our generation." Annabeth shakes her head and neatly folds the paper. "Never mind that. But that blueprint is one of the many half-attempts Leo has made lately. His head's up in the clouds—and he's lucky we're both good students, otherwise I'd kick his butt if I get anything less than an A on the project when the semester's over."

"We're only in October, Annie." Percy smirks, then shakes his head with quick concern. "I guess it isn't a surprise that you came to us. Look, I don't know the details as well as _she_ does—" Percy gestures to his fiancé. "—but Leo's not Roman, Jase. I spent an entire summer there, and it's hard as hell to shield your emotions. Battle first, sentiments later."

"I know. Leo's not like that." I shift uncomfortably as Percy shrugs.

"Athena has told me on more than one occasion that I'm too loyal," he persists. Pushing off the couch, I see a small frown spread across Percy's face as he stands parallel to me. "That's my fatal flaw. She says that I trust too easily—that all I see when I look at a person is the good, and even when I know they're not, I still try to see them as that. I know I say all the time we're Children of the Big Three, but even _I_ falter when it comes to the Father of the Gods."

I hate that title. Trying hard to not let him see me glare, Annabeth puts a hand on my shoulder instead, expression gentle.

"Thalia hated the fact that Zeus was her father, too. You and I both know that when you're the child of a god, people expect certain things to come from you." She shifts closer, sharing eye contact with Percy before continuing. "You two had it worse. More worse than Percy or Bianca or Nico. Trust me, you've lived up to those expectations—"

"But you're seriously like a turtle with a fuck-hard _shell._ And you think a lot!" Percy throws his arms into the air to exaggerate his point. Annabeth kicks him. "Ow! Anyway, you get our points?"

"…no." Maybe getting advice from Percy was a bad idea. Especially um, since he was about to consummate with his girlfriend.

"Sorry, I don't think we're much help." Annabeth glares at Percy, then squeezes my shoulder gently. "But…Percy relates to you because you're both leaders, you're like one of my brothers, Piper is your _girlfriend_—and Leo is your best friend."

Percy nods obediently, but I think it's so he doesn't get hit again. "I'm serious, dude. You think too much—but can you kind of understand this from Leo's perspective? He's like, totally in love with you, and knows you better than anyone. He knows he doesn't stand a chance."

"He…does know me better than—_did you just say he's in love with me_?" I look back and forth between the couple and find Annabeth's eyes three times their normal size. Leo had told me _countless times_ that I was his best friend. Nothing would…_change_ the fact that we're best friends, and—and Annabeth wasn't helping.

"Seaweed Brain, _did you seriously figure it out on your own_?"

"_Did you just say he was in love with me?" _My brain is stuck on repeat.

"What's so hard to figure out about it?" Percy's sea green eyes look to me, suddenly turning uncomfortable, and then he shrugs. "Okay, _yeah_, the really strange thing is, I'm not freaking out about the fact he's gay for you—I'm freaking out about the fact I'm not freaking out about it. But—come on, Annie. You see the looks they give each other, and Leo always looks at Jason a bit longer than he needs to and—oh, wow." Percy pauses and stares directly to me. "You didn't know, did you?"

Annabeth smacks her face.

Rewind. "Did you…just say he was in love with me?"

"Oops." Percy gets a punch in the arm again, and I can only stare at him, awaiting an explanation. He hesitates, eyes narrowing carefully to my form before tossing his head in the air and loudly sighing. It…it makes me think of Leo, actually. "We were supposed to go with the subtle approach, weren't we?"

"That we were." Annabeth rolls her eyes, pulling away from me too, and stands next to Percy. If I'd…grown up with parents, I think I now have a strong hint as to how they would have acted like. "Look, don't freak out, alright?"

"Who's freaking out?" The fact I have total control of my voice right now is kind of surprising. I had just gotten used to the idea Leo liked boys _a week ago_. The fact he and Travis were…_once an item_ was another part of the equation, and—Oh, _Gods._ This had to be a lie.

"Honestly, I don't know when it started," she says gently. Her expression softens, and then she looks to Percy. "But he _does_ have feelings for you. For a long time. Remember that Leo knows you more than Percy, me, and your sister combined."

"But he—" He told me that I was just _me._ That was it. This couldn't possibly be happening.

"He puts _your_ feelings and _Piper's _feelings first." Annabeth's right. "Jason, you have a way of being blunt with things that I couldn't even begin to imagine telling Percy."

"Exactly." Percy looks at me, then freezes. "Wait, what don't you tell me?"

"Shut _up_, Percy." Her eyes narrow. "So don't freak out. Leo got you two together, remember? And he's helped the _both _of you try to sort out your feelings for one another. He isn't going to press his feelings on you, because he's sure that's not what you want."

Leo's…always put our feelings first. He's told me countless times that Piper was a sister to him, and insists that I don't hurt her. He…makes cracks about us, teases us, and…apparently is helping with our almost sex-life.

"Son," Percy says, hand on my shoulder. "Go to bed. You've had a long night."

"B…But…" I don't know what to say. I…I'm kind of confused.

"We'll talk about it in the morning. Your mother will make bacon. Or I'll make bacon. Maybe we'll just go Jewish and order kosher food._" _Percy drops his joking tone before smiling. "You've got a lot on your mind, and we've all got class in the morning. Think about it—and do us all a favor. Don't pull a Me and bring it up the next time you see Leo."

"It would _crush him_ if you told him you knew," Annabeth agrees. She pokes me lightly and gestures toward the door, small smile spreading across her face. Obviously she's a bit more rational than I am about this. "Just go think about it. Make up with Leo as soon as possible. I'm sure it'll make him happy."

Right. Yeah. Okay.

I nod, unsure of what else to say, and the door is slammed in my face before I have the chance to say goodbye. Seeing as there's nothing else to do, I make my way to the elevator and back to my room. When I get back, there's still no sign of Leo—he was serious about going over to the Stoll apartment.

It gives me time to do what I do best: think. Changing into a pair of pajamas, I collapse onto bed, noting I still haven't called Piper, but…I can't. Leo's still on my mind.

And oddly enough, Percy's right. I'm not freaking out about Leo possibly being in _love _with me—I'm…I'm freaking out because I don't know why I'm not freaking out.

**Author's Note: **

So like. This chapter was a bit more my fault than it is that I didn't have time to write it. xD I've got all the time available now, honestly—but I put it off to write because I was lazy. But _now_, Jason knows—so what is he gonna do with that information? Eh? _Eh_? Now, I've put them in a college setting and this story is pretty simplistic (and at the same time, not really), but I've gotten tugs from both end and have tried to make it as neutral as possible. Tell me: who do you think is going to top? Why?

I hope Percy isn't a little…_out_ there, but I can kind of imagine him being this relaxed by his college years. Like I said; the difference between Jason and Percy is that Jason thinks a lot. _Very much._ Percy's just stupid. In a cute way. :'D


	11. Where Leo Stands

_.It's Gon: You. Will like this chapter a lot. Aha. _

_Sister-of-the-devil: Guess you'll just have to wait and see, huh? Hehe. _

_Gethe: Haha, you'll just have to wait and see. Leo has an explanation for the way he acts, actually. _

_Cheesey: The book's actually a lot different from the movie. xD I'd have to say to read the books; but Heroes of Olympus is part of a different series in a different period of time. I highly recommend it; that's where I get a lot of my humor from. _

**Chapter XI: **Where Leo Stands

Shut up.

I feel the sun beaming in my face as I try to bury myself deeper into the Stoll Brother's stupid couch, and the unhealthy scent of ramen noodles fills my nose. Not just any ramen noodles—empty plastic cups that are littered all over the floor like they haven't been touched since freshman orientation. I don't want to wake up from last night because if I do, that means waking up remembering that I'd snapped at Jason after another failed date. I'd blown a fucking gasket, getting all up in his face for every wrong thing he's done to me. Worst part?

The only wrong thing he's ever done to me was make me fall in love with him. Even more worse?

He still doesn't know. I've never planned on telling Jason about my feelings for him because he's always been undeniably straight, and I don't want to ruin it for him. You know that kid has so much messed up in the head? When we first met he had amnesia, not knowing how the hell he was at camp, and my first quest with him—_just us_—was to find out why his memories were gone. Before and after, knowing he was the child of Zeus never made his life easy. Grace has all of these expectations of himself, along with expectations everyone else has of him. He's locked away his feelings for the first seventeen years of his life to put everyone before himself, growing up for everyone else around him the moment he was taken into camp. _I'm just a lowly Hephaestus kid._

Jason isn't his father. He doesn't go around the entire world having awesome super hot sex, doesn't hold himself to a higher standard than anyone else, and if he had the chance he'd probably get rid of that spotlight always thrust upon him. Percy has it bad because he's a child of the Big Three. Jason has it worse because he's the child of _Numero Uno._

The Greek and Roman World doesn't have a zero-tolerance policy, but it's not like they were all freaky religious or anything. Sort of. Mythology _is_ their religion, before the whole Reformation Movement went and changed everything. I've never met him, but stories of Apollo tell of his male lovers, and Mr. D (shiver) was that feminine one who got looks from sailors a lot when he was mortal. Apollo kids are as open as you can get—going around and serenading those hiding in their closets, and one look at the Aphrodite Cabin makes all the _chicos _scream _GAY. _

So, no. Greek/Roman society isn't gonna kick your ass for liking sausage like your sausage or donuts like your donuts. Neither is Jason. Jason has always been the type of person who accepts people despite their flaws—and when he trusts you, you see the staple scar on his lip and it almost looks like it's shining.

But that's his other flaw.

Jason has a lot of ridiculous flaws: his fear of being controlled, fear of betrayal, insane jealousy, mild Daddy issues, and he's always stiffer than the hard-on I get whenever I see him. But his biggest, most ridiculous flaw is being unable to pick up on the fact that he flirts/charms everyone he sees. If he were an Aphrodite kid he'd beat Piper as a charmspeaker because the compliments you receive are always his earnest, darnedest truth.

He knows when he makes a mistake on the battlefield. He's completely stupid when it comes to being himself. So I let it slide because the chances of Jason flirting purposefully are like, zero-to-none.

So yeah. _Shut up._

I know I blamed him. I know that I freaked out on his ass, and that I crossed the line when I was talking to him. I know I shouldn't have snapped, because right now I'm kind of still freaking out that my rock of a roommate and the girl that's practically my sister are both asking me for _sex advice_ and for some reason, Jason losing his virginity is bothering me more than I should.

Shut up, just shut up, just—"_Shut up!" _

"Dude!" Conner—I know it's Conner because his voice is a little higher than his brother's—"I was just trying to get you to wake up! Isn't your first class soon?"

A groan leaves my lips, sweaty curls sticking to my forehead. I reach for the watch I made last night (score! This one has a fingerprint reader too!) and stare at the glowing numbers. Oh—"_Shit._"

Pushing off the couch and letting my back crack in twenty angles, I dart toward the door—then stop.

Conner only laughs. "You're in your boxers, dude."

"I kinda figured that out when _cold air_ hit me." Actually not really. I've always had insanely hot body temperature because of my powers, even when they're fully controlled. But shit. I'd come to their apartment in a haste, kicking Drew out on her ass in the middle of her lap dance for Conner (now he agrees with me that her sex noises sound like a cat with a splinter stuck between its paw), and after Conner gave one quick call to his brother, Travis had come home early from his date. We talked. _A lot._

I dunno how, but I guess I just ended up blacking out on their couch. He must have given me some sleep medicine or something because I'm pretty sure on my way here I'd burnt Conner's face by accident. Yeah—there it is. My eyes venture to the highlights of his cheek bones, and right there you can make out a second-degree burn in the shape of a fist. Thank Gods for ambrosia—otherwise it'd be a lot worse than puffy little red.

Conner only grins, checking me out head-to-toe before meandering toward Travis's room. "Wait here."

I can't help but smirk, mounting on the couch through all of the empty noodle cups, pizza boxes and whatever the hell is covering their floor. Really—you could probably find a litter of kittens under their dining table or something. The Stoll Brothers weren't known for being tidy. Jason is tolerant when I'm all around the room with my latest invention, but there are days where I come back to the dorm room and suddenly everything's clean. He's put my good wrenches on the wall, my shoes under my bed, fluffed my pillows, and made sure everything looks okay.

Of course, being me, my side of the room is pretty much slicked with oil, soot, grease and dirt by the time he comes back from his next class while I try building something, but I'd never know where anything is without him. He's never complained, either. Jason may lack every lick of creativity known to mankind, but he lets me do what I want. Really, the kid spoils me.

Sighing, I add that to the list of reasons why I need to apologize to Jason ASAP. It's a blow to my pride—I mean, I'd come back to the dorm grouchy and whiny that _I_ found myself annoying—but he doesn't know it. It's not like I'm pursuing him—so that's what sucks even more. Believe me—I've spent the past two years trying to push those feelings away. Why get so hung up on someone you'll never have when there's plenty of fish in the sea?

When people say that, it pisses me off. Trust me—when you find that person that you can just be yourself around, severing that link is the hardest thing you can do.

There's a lot of yelling and screaming—and I'm pretty sure more than once the apartment starts shaking. Whatever the hell Conner's doing to his brother, Trav suddenly comes out, curly hair ruffled in a giant afro and he pouts. Conner snickers behind him, eyes wickedly gleaming and he holds up a pair of clothes.

Looking around the floor, I quickly realize that when I slapped Conner I must have also burnt my clothes off in the process. Well damn. My cheeks turn bright red. Generally I have good control over my powers. I've only burnt a hole through my mattress once when I was having a nightmare. The fact I _burnt my clothes_ doesn't even begin to tell how moody I must have been.

Travis jibes his brother in the torso, then hops to my side, clothes in hand. He takes one look at me before all of the weariness drowns from his eyes, replaced by a grin. "You look hot."

"You have a girlfriend. Sort of." I smirk, yanking the clothes from his hands. He's finally gone through that growth spurt of his over the summer, so we're sort of the same height.

"Mm," he moans dramatically and presses a hand to his forehead. "Shackled. What I wouldn't give for a good screw! Hey, does Leo Jr. still have that mole?"

"Leo Jr. is _flawless_!" I cry, then punch him in the shoulder. You seriously must be wondering—how do I go from Travis, the bestest bed buddy in the world, to Jason—who probably doesn't even know what upstairs-outsidies means? I pull the shirt over my head, then pull the pants up—no belt included. Damn, these things are gonna fall off before my day's even over with.

Conner is still at the door, this time making faces. "Are you seriously having a broment?"

"We're having a ho-ment!" To prove his point, Travis sticks his hand down my boxers and—HOLY SHIT. "Hmm. Oh, dude—don't look now but you're getting a stiffy."

"Whatever!" I shove him away, eying him with horror while he only laughs. Conner's rendered speechless, and he slumps against the doorframe just _gaping_. I'd do the same to him (what? Have you never shoved your hand down your ex's pants and grab his _junk _before?), but I'm already as late as is and need to grab books for Hephaestian Theory class. The Stoll Brothers yell an anticlimactic goodbye that I shrug off as I hop into the elevator.

Oh, and those odd stares? You know, the two Aphrodite sisters who just so happen to live down the hall and the Ares boy that lives in the floor above the Stoll Brothers? The ones, specifically, that are _in the elevator with me?_ It isn't the first time they've seen me in this elevator, leaving Travis's apartment after a good night together. I'm wearing his clothes, I look like I haven't showered since yesterday—and well, probably smell like it too.

The Ares boy just stares at me long and hard, but I'm considered one of the best blacksmiths in the nation, and with the Capture the Flag tournaments coming up he doesn't say a thing. The Aphrodite girls giggle, but I notice they're only freshman.

Maybe if I wasn't still a wee bit frustrated with Jason I'd actually hit on them. Plus, I guess they think I'm doing the Walk of Shame back to my dorm. Wouldn't be the first time.

The good news was that when I set fire to myself last night, I hadn't burned my wallet into a crisp. The bad news was I had been so frustrated when I got to the dorm last night that I left my wallet at home.

So instead of sidestepping the possibility of meeting Jason on my way to class (not only that, but a quick shower. I only had an hour to get dressed and stuff) by getting some coffee, I have to go straight there and—wait for it—_knock._ My keys were in my pants and have either been burnt to a crisp or the Stoll Brothers now have access to my room. Scary thought.

It's at the first knock that Jason answers the door. That's not a good thing.

Grace isn't the type of guy to keep you waiting, but you can always tell by the way he answers the door what's been going on. If you have to knock three times, he's in the middle of some complicated math homework. Twice means that he's doing something, but nothing important. Four times means he's just getting up—which doesn't work since the guy's internal alarm wakes him up at 5:30 in the morning.

Once means he hasn't gotten any sleep and has been up thinking all night.

Compared to Travis's curly brown hair and fluid blue eyes, I'm staring into a new stratosphere from Jason's crop-top and intense, shocking orbs.

For a moment, all I can do is just stand there, gaze transfixed with his and stomach flopping. My hand moves to my hair to tug a curl—then I remember that they're too short for that now. Damn, my ears are cold. Jason only stares back, eyes seeming more concentrated than they have been in a long time.

Don't blame him. We seriously got into a fight, I had a lot of baggage, and he doesn't even know what the hell's in my suitcase.

"Hi." It leaves my throat almost inaudibly, a croak compared to me yelling at Travis all morning. My heart trembles under a vice grip, blood throbbing in my ears as I only stare at him, mystified.

Then all Jason does is smile. I feel my heart flutter as that gentle, hesitant smile curves his lips, revealing the faint scar on his bottom lip as he opens the door wider. "Hey."

He's not mad. Oh, Gods…he's not mad. The mucus in the back of my throat gathers together, and I swallow it down harshly—through my scratchy throat into my suffocated ribcage—before entering and looking around the room. Jason's cleaned up my messes. _Again._

Jason doesn't make a move to shut the door behind him, but we both know he isn't leaving anytime soon. It's Thursday, and his first class doesn't start until noon. I drop to the chest in front of my bed and grab everything I need for a good shower in the co-ed bathroom.

Actually…I'm pretty sure he's staring at me now.

My face heats up and at the first scent of fire I force my temperature down before getting up from the ground. We say nothing. We're not even looking each other in the eye. Getting some nerve, that's exactly what I do because the last time this silent treatment happened, he'd just found out that I was bi.

"Pretty sure I lost my key or something. At least my wallet's here," I joke. We're still not looking each other in the eye, but I can clear as day see my wallet on the desk next to Annabeth's and my project.

When he doesn't answer I get the nerve to look at him. Jason is studying me. He's been doing that a lot lately. Quickly he snaps out of his thoughts, blinking once or twice before slowly nodding. "Cool."

No reaction. You seriously feel the elephant in the room and the awkward silence is so bad that I could probably light it on fire. Wait, does that even make sense? I think we go into a staring contest, neither one of us knowing what to say until I'm pursing my lips and am ready to light the ammunition. Come on, Valdez—all you need to do is just—just _say_ it—

"I'm sorry." Whoa. That's not your voice. I look up to Jason, but find that his eyes are closed, edges of his hand in his hair and his eyebrows are furrowed. Jason bites his lip and the shame plays clearly across his face. "Leo…I'm so sorry."

My throat goes dry. I can't even hear my brain thinking.

"I shouldn't have said what I said last night—I shouldn't have accused you of being jealous of Piper and me." Jason's eyes quickly shoot open but I guess my silence is doubling for his own hell bent torture. I don't think I've ever seen him this…this _distraught. _He studies me again, eyelids lowering one millimeter as he waits for my reaction. Actually, I don't even know what I'm feeling. "When I said that…I'd meant if you were jealous of our relationship. Not that I had her. But it was my fault that it came out the wrong way and we've known each other for four years. It's an insult. The fact that I can't trust you of all people—you know how my mind works better than anyone, Leo."

Am I nodding? I think I'm nodding. I'm…I'm doing _something_ with my head.

Jason continues, eyes never leaving mine. I can see his sincerity. "I'm not going to set you up on dates anymore. I-I'm not going to try and run your life. I promise."

"…you done being emo?" All I start doing is laughing. I break into a smile, and it's like every bone in my body's suddenly loosened, becoming jelly and just—oh, just wow. Just like that Jason has me wrapped around his finger again and I can't stay mad at him. I just…jeez, I just want to hug my corazoncito.

And like always, all serious and dire, Jason looks up with confusion on his face and I can't help myself. My hand twitches, then I tackle him into the wall, embracing him from head-to-toe and inhaling the scent of zesty lightning and ambrosia. Jason doesn't hug back—but I don't expect it. He's not exactly touchy-feely.

"I'm sorry," I say softly, nose buried in the crook of his neck. I have to stand at the tip of my toes just to wrap my arms around his neck. Oh, Gods…I'm so freaking gay. "For snapping at you and stuff."

Jason is tense again, but this time it's not from the hug. "But…I-I deserved it."

"No, corazoncito." I pull away from him, missing the warmth that was previously there, but don't think much of it. My eyes scan his body up and down, and there's this glimmer—something I've never noticed before in Jason's eyes the moment I called him my corazoncito. "Trust me. When I yelled at you last night, that was all me. You were just on my stress load."

After all, it wasn't like Jason actually knew I was in love with him or anything. And it was a subject I don't think I wanna get back into. So he slowly nods before his eyes look me from head-to-toe again. _Snap!_ We drop the subject just like that. "Did you…sleep over at Travis's?"

"Well," I say thoughtfully, hands feeling up the t-shirt that Travis had thrown to me. It's got this big fluffy picture of Torchic on it. I think back to when he shoved his hand down my pants just this morning. "He gave me a handjob." Technically.

Jason only stares at me. Then I remember what I'd just said. "A…handjob?"

Maybe I said it to him to remind him that I may like girls, but I do have the hots for guys once in a while. I can't just go out and say right there and then, _Dude, you are so freaking sexy_, but this _is_ a new adjustment for Jason. I think it stings that he hadn't the slightest clue I was bi because we're supposed to be best friends.

Remembering he just repeated what I said, only confused, I snap out of my thoughts. Oh right, he's a virgin. I laugh at that thought. For all I know, Jason probably doesn't even know the proper way to _masturbate_. As gentlemanly as possible, I start making gestures with my hand and arch an eyebrow. "If you took your chastity belt off once in a while, it's when someone else—"

"I-I know what a handjob is," Jason says. Oh, wow—Jason's entire face blooms dark red and he looks at me sardonically, ready to bop me up the head. But come on, I'm too cute to do that. Er, right? "I mean, I've had one. Well, I-I've given myself plenty of—"

Um.

Er.

Uh.

Jason freezes, and just like that the pretty hues of red on his face blanch into a deathly white as he stares at me. Then…he's blushing from his bare feet to his hairline, face quickly constructing his lieutenant's mask and all I can do is stare at him.

I'm—I'm pretty sure Leo Jr.'s jumping around in my boxers.

"I'm gonna…" Jason starts as he turns his head toward the door, voice awkward. Cum? _Cum? __**CUM**__? _"…go."

"Um," I say back. "Okay."

He leaves in a hurry, and I'm left standing there debating whether or not I should laugh or wallow in my confusion. I decide to do both. We're um. We're cool, right?

**Author's Note: **

So, everyone's basically given me an answer to the last question. However, does anyone else find the image of calm, cool, and collected Jason squirming _absolutely adorable? _xD I guess you could call it a filler chapter; it resolved their fight without much going on. Thank you though, so much for the reviews! I didn't expect so many and was very flattered! C:


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